


Playing House

by kuroeko



Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven GO
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Slice of Life, afufubu is main ship, just imagine urban fantasy kidfic and this is it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25786252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroeko/pseuds/kuroeko
Summary: An archangel, a werewolf, and the unexpectedcurseblessing of two human bundles of joy. Raising children can’t be that hard, can it?
Relationships: Afuro Terumi | Aphrodi/Fubuki Shirou, Endou Mamoru/Rococo Urupa, Genda Koujirou/Sakuma Jirou, Tachimukai Yuuki/Tsunami Jousuke
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	1. meet n greet

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [ RC ](https://twitter.com/spacialrenders) for beta!
> 
> I got tired of making afufubu get together so I just wrote this extremely self indulgent fic of two new parents trying to wrestle with child-rearing. Except why not urban fantasy? I love fantasy, so the answer is urban fantasy kidfic.
> 
> \---  
> I know Yukimura and Kishibe are their family names but I’m old and new neuron paths can’t be formed anymore so I just kept that as how they’re called.

Aphrodi lightly skipped down the side street, humming to himself as his wings beat gently against his back. Glowing halo and six giant wings aside, he felt like he could easily pass as a very beautiful human, and might explain why he was so easily excited by gorgeous clothing that could only serve to play up his stunning looks. Fubuki would probably be annoyed by how much he had bought today, but how could he pass up such a good sale at his favorite boutique?! He’d just conveniently leave out the “time” part of the sale, and maybe try to slip a few new shoes into his closet beforehand. That way, Fubuki couldn’t figure out the full extent of his shopping trip. 

In hindsight, flying would’ve been a faster, more convenient way to head home, but he was wearing a long pink tulle skirt today, and even with shorts underneath, flashing people wasn’t an option. Hitching the bags up onto his shoulder so his ribbed white turtleneck would ease the weight of his new possessions, he continued humming and slowed to a walk as he turned onto a main street to pass through a more residential area. Humans, demons, vampires... There were plenty of supernatural and natural creatures walking around early this morning already. An excited pair of young satyrs capered across his path, causing him to pause for a second to avoid their sharp and uncontrolled hooves. 

One the coast was clear and he began strolling forward again, a stray hair caught on his dangling earrings, causing a sharp pain to jolt through his unfortunately all-too-human nerves. Reaching up to try and untangle them from his hair, he completely missed seeing the rolling mini thundercloud that was mysteriously heading directly at him. It was only when its shadow fell over him that he looked skyward in irritation. Aphrodi's crimson red eyes widened in shock as a torrent of rain drenched over him (and only him), coupled with a generous bolt of lightning and a spoken word that echoed through his very bones.

**_REPENT!_**

\---

Fubuki trudged home after a long day at work, ruffling his fingers through his slightly overgrown hair. He thought idly over what he’d have to cook for dinner tonight. It was his turn to cook, but truthfully he was so tired from running around all day that he might just pick up some takeout on the way home. Shaking his head at these thoughts, he reminded himself of the ingredients that were already sitting in the fridge. The meat would go bad soon if he didn’t use it, and this would save some money either way. Not that he really needed to save any money, considering the expensive penthouse he lived in. It helped when his husband was an extremely rich archangel that had worked far too much overtime for the past few centuries. That aside, he still liked working and wasn’t about to quit his job and be a boy-toy like the aforementioned husband. Two NEETs in the house would be too much. He’d go crazy. 

Stepping into the apartment lobby, he immediately picked up an unusual scent in the air. Trying to discreetly sniff around, he nodded politely at the doorman who smiled at him in response. Good, he didn’t notice. Stepping into the elevator, it silently carried him upwards through all the floors. Reaching his destination, he stepped out into the short hallway before the penthouse doors. Aphrodi had already been living here before they had even started dating, and moving into one of the many empty rooms had been easy. Half of them had just functioned as Aphrodi’s wardrobe either way. Now that they were married for a few years, Fubuki’s room had just been converted into a Fubuki’s-Belongings-Storeroom for the time being. 

Looking down, he spotted where the scent had originated from. Charred and wet feathers were flung around the entryway, leaving quite a mess to be cleaned up later. Concerned, Fubuki quickly unlocked the door and headed in, only to be greeted with a whole mass of unfamiliar scents. Unable to suppress his instincts completely, he already knew that his wolf ears and tail had appeared. It was only through pinching his nose that he managed to not fully transform. Being a werewolf had very few perks, but at least he could become a snarling furry monster in case anything came at him. 

“Aphrodi?” Weaving through the room with fingers still on his nose, he discarded his bag on the floor and sought out where the scent was the strongest. Entering the living room, he saw what he could assume was his husband huddled in a sopping wet corner with wings tightly cocooned around him, along with two purple-haired children huddled on the far side. 

For a moment, Fubuki stared at the image in front of him, then processed what he was seeing. 

“What?!” 

Unable to suppress his base instincts any longer, he fully transformed into a large grey wolf in an act of instinct. Unfortunately, it seems like the children weren’t used to this and immediately screamed at this sight. One tried to hide the other, who was starting to cry under their arm (how noble), then took off a shoe and threw it straight at Fubuki’s muzzle (how ignoble). Yelping at the impact, Fubuki desperately tried to transform back, but only managed to do so halfway, the result being what looked like a deranged cheap amusement park mascot. Abandoning the plan of trying to talk to the children, he hurried over to the wet pile of feathers and stuck his muzzle directly into them.

“Aphrodi,” his voice was a bit raspier when he was a wolf, making it harder to understand him, but that didn’t matter right now. “Aphrodi, what the Hell is happening here.” 

Aphrodi was crying and looked positively ugly with his face all covered in tears and snot. Glancing up in shock at the seemingly-angry wolf face, Aphrodi burst out into even more tears, unable to answer Fubuki’s question.

“Aphrodi….” a deep growl entered his throat. Hearing the crying child behind him, and his muzzle smarting from the shoe impact from before, he feared for the worst. “Did you kidnap some children?!” 

“No! I would never do that!” Aphrodi choked through his sobs. “They’re mine- no- OURS now.” 

“What?!” _Could male angels get pregnant?_ What about archangels?! This was something they DEFINITELY should’ve talked about before getting married.

“Oh my God,” he began to pull back, but not before Aphrodi’s crimson eyes angrily darted back to him. 

“Do NOT mention that name near me right now! He’s the reason for this mess!” Fubuki froze in surprise. _Aphrodi’s boss? Directly involving himself with this?!_

“OK, well,” fully drawing himself back out, he took a few deep breaths and managed to regain most of his human features (except for the tail and ears) before turning around to face the terrified children. First things first. He had to deal with these poor things, and then deal with his pathetic husband. Sniffing carefully, he wasn’t sure what species these children were. Human? Siren? Children without obvious physical features were always hard to tell apart, especially if they were covered in rainwater and charred feathers. The one thing he DID know was that they weren’t the same species as him or Aphrodi, proven by how wide their eyes were at the moment. They clearly weren’t familiar with werewolves and angels, that’s for sure, he knew those two scents too well.

“Hi…” he tried to give them a gentle smile, but only ended up exposing his currently overgrown fangs that he had quite frankly forgotten about. The child already crying had started bawling now, and he had to narrowly dodge another shoe. Luckily, after that there were no shoes left, so he was safe for now. 

“Wait! Um, please…” trying to make himself look as friendly as possible, he pressed back his ears and tried to make himself small to appeal to the children. Children from different species were to be approached differently, but with their origin unknown right now he could only treat them as if they were werewolf pups. 

“Please don’t eat us,” sobbed the child in the back. Fubuki stiffened in surprise, really starting to wonder what species they WERE to have such an outdated misconception of werewolves. The worst he ever did was shed and howl a lot during full moons... 

“It’s okay...I won’t eat you,” he gently tried to console them. “C’mon, let’s get you guys cleaned up and then we’ll get some ice cream, alright?” Food was always a good way to calm anyone down, and sweets were even better with the vague knowledge he had of children.

Herding the children along while keeping a wary eye on the shoe-thrower, he managed to confirm that they knew how to take a shower by themselves. After getting the bathroom ready by haphazardly grabbing stacks of towels and turning on the water, he left them to it. Telling himself that kids couldn’t possibly drown in a shower, he hurried over and peeled Aphrodi’s wings open.

“You. Get cleaned up and then come meet me in the bedroom. You have some explaining to do.” 

Cowering, Aphrodi didn’t utter a peep of protest and dragged himself into the master bedroom’s shower to clean himself off as well. Fubuki, meanwhile, went off to find some clothes that would fit small children in the household, but had no such luck. In the end, he settled on some normally sized t-shirts and hoped the kids would put their underwear back on. Leaving the clean clothes outside the door, he called to them inside to ensure that they were still alive. 

“Go away!” A small voice shouted out this darling reply. 

_They seem quite self-sufficient,_ Fubuki thought to himself. Once they were clean and dressed, he herded them over to the dining table where he already had ice cream ready and waiting for them. The one that was crying earlier seemed to perk up at the sight, but hesitated at the edge of the table, waiting for his companion to deign the ice cream safe to eat. Shoe-thrower gave him a suspicious glare, and Fubuki ended up having to take a bite out of each one before the kids would eat. _Vampire?_ He wondered, as he was still trying to guess their species. Vampires were always so suspicious about everything, so that fit the bill. Pulling out some macarons from the fridge, he left them on the table for the kids to indulge themselves in then went to the master bedroom to confront a certain _someone_.

Aphrodi was a huddled mess in the middle of the giant white and gold canopy bed. Ostentatious taste suited an archangel, but not a werewolf from the mountains like Fubuki. Fortunately, Fubuki tended to stick with the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality, so this was how they lived. Sighing, Fubuki stood next to the bed and crossed his arms, staring down at his husband. 

“Well? You better explain before they eat all of your favorite macarons.”

Aphrodi whipped open his wings at that statement, red eyes widening in shock. 

“You gave them MY MACARONS!?” 

“Aphrodi, what else are we going to feed them, raw meat? That’s for me. And I’m quite sure most children of _any_ species cannot eat raw meat. Now stop avoiding the topic and explain.” Fully called out, Aphrodi’s wings wilted around him while he reached up and rubbed his temples. 

“I…..” hesitating, he tried to think of the best way to phrase this so he wouldn’t sound like the source of the problem. A soft growl emanating next to him caused him to quickly rethink any lies he was going to tell. 

“Did you use Heaven’s Time.” 

Aphrodi’s eyes widening in response was all Fubuki needed to know the truth. He’d warned Aphrodi so many times already not to use his archangel powers for frivolous, off-the-job things. And considering how he was currently on indefinite paid time off, EVERYTHING was off-the-job.

“No….” 

“Don’t lie to me Aphrodi. You’re rubbing your temples, you’ve got dark circles under your eyes, and you’re emotional as Hell. You definitely used Heaven’s Time.” 

“Yeah….” Aphrodi gave in, knowing better than to argue against the one person who knew him best. 

“Why.” 

“There was a limited-time sale that I nearly missed….” Aphrodi immediately braced himself for the pillow that was already flying for his face. Cocooning himself in his wings again, he was glad that this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence - he already knew what to do.

“AFURO TERUMI, WHAT DID I TELL YOU BEFORE!” Fubuki was furious now, and if this was the reason they suddenly had possibly-kidnapped children he’d lose it.

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it, it was just so cheap…”

“You have! Millions! Of! Any! Currency!” Of all the things to be, a cheapskate was not something a divine archangel should be, and yet here Aphrodi was, proving him wrong.

“It’s the thrill of the hunt!”

“NO! Now explain what this has to do with those poor children out there! Where did you steal them from? Are we going to return them to their parents?” 

Aphrodi finally sat up properly on the bed, taking a shaky breath before nervously meeting Fubuki’s gaze.

“So like...remember when I told you about what I do when I’m on the job...like the guardian angel-type stuff?” 

“Yes…?” Fubuki wasn’t sure where this was going, he just knew that as an archangel his rank was high enough that Aphrodi didn’t do much of that anymore when he was working. He hadn’t done it in years, since he’d stopped working after falling in love with Fubuki and successfully wooing him into marriage.

“Well I guess...God figured out what I was doing and got sort of...God-tier pissed and wanted to...um, teach me a lesson. Except you can’t really kill an archangel, or like, fire me because then I’ll become a powerful fallen angel? Like a demon? So anyways, he uh... struck me with some lightning and by the time I came to, I was in an orphanage director’s office, signing the papers…” Aphrodi nervously trailed off, seeing Fubuki starting to turn back into a wolf. One day Fubuki was going to rip his throat out, and today might just be that day.

Fubuki, without another word, walked straight into the master bathroom and Aphrodi could swear he heard water running behind the door. Emerging a few minutes later with his head fully soaked but back to near-human form, Fubuki stalked his way back to his earlier position, re-crossing his arms to glare down at the cowering archangel. 

“...So yeah I guess I’m their guardian angel now, so we have to take care of them.” Aphrodi weakly finished. Hopefully Fubuki wouldn’t kill him, because that would set a bad example for the children outside. Fubuki was staring off into space now, churning over several things in his mind. They’d have to get food, clothes, toys…. Finally making a decision, he took in a deep breath then let it out, managing to finally get rid of his ears and tail. 

“Aphrodi.”

“Yes?” Aphrodi tentatively replied. 

“Go buy some more groceries and clothes that’ll fit the kids. I’m going to clean out one of the empty rooms.”

“What? Why are you cleaning out the room?” Aphrodi gazed up in confusion at his currently collective husband. 

“Because the kids need somewhere to sleep! Now go!” Wings tumbling over each other, Aphrodi made for the patio windows to launch himself out into the night. For once, he was glad that he’d gotten fully dressed after getting out of the shower. Beating his bedraggled wings in the cold night air, he belatedly realized he’d forgotten his wallet and had to turn back around. It took some talent to sneak back in when Fubuki wasn’t looking, but he managed to snag the wallet before heading back out again. 

\---

By the time Aphrodi got back with all the groceries and clothes, Fubuki had managed to corral the children into the living room, where they were still eating snacks (having moved onto his precious cream wafers) and watching cartoons on the widescreen TV.

“Here,” breathless from carrying so much stuff and the panicked flight through the night, Aphrodi had to sit down at the counter chair to rest. Fubuki grabbed the groceries and after putting some away, began preparing them in addition to what he had already started cooking. Fearful to speak up, Aphrodi’s mind raced through possible safe conversation topics before remembering something quite important. Getting off the chair, he headed over to the entryway where he picked up a slightly damp manila envelope that was still on the ground, bringing it back to the kitchen.

“Um, Fubuki…” Angry teal eyes glared at him, and Fubuki’s knife flashed even faster over the cutting board. Aphrodi was really starting to sweat.

“I just remembered, here’s the information file for the kids…” Fubuki immediately dropped everything and grabbed the envelope out of his hand. Carefully opening it, he pulled out a thick packet of information, two children’s worth. Aphrodi leaned over to better see the information as well. Having only come back to consciousness after signing for the kids, he had never gotten a chance to look. Evidently, the agency had decided to skip the background check and foster stage because he was such a kind and innocent archangel. 

“Yukimura Hyouga...Kishibe Taiga…” Fubuki quickly read off the names, and was also grateful for the picture that was pasted on each file. Shoe-thrower was Yukimura, and crybaby was Kishibe. Glancing quickly through the rest of the information, Fubuki was desperately trying to find the most important box. Ah, there it was.

“Oh my...Aphrodi…they’re humans.” 

“What?! Oh...I mean, they should be pretty easy to raise, right?” Aphrodi looked up hopefully at Fubuki, figuring that as long as they hadn’t gotten some crazy, hidden demon child it should be alright. Fubuki returned the look with a pained expression on his face. 

“Aphrodi, neither of us know how to raise a human. I was raised in a werewolf pack and you were just...you’re an angel that manifested. We don’t have any human raising skills.” Aphrodi’s wings drooped and his halo dimmed a bit at this realization, before suddenly turning bright again. That usually meant Aphrodi had an idea, something Fubuki was always wary of.

“I think we’ll be fine! I’m their guardian angel after all! It should prevent them from getting hurt or anything-” Aphrodi’s proclamation was cut off by a well-timed crash from the living room and subsequent crying. Abandoning the conversation, both of them rushed back to the living room to see that Kishibe had fallen off the back of the couch. The boy seemed to have wanted a better view of the screen but had slipped upon trying to get up top. 

“Oh my boss, human blood is red.” Aphrodi whispered as he froze in place, unsure of what to do. Random children crying on the street was one thing. His own child? Shit. 

“Aphrodi! First aid kit! In the bathroom!” Snapping back into action at Fubuki’s voice, he ran over to the bathroom and grabbed the kit from under the sink to come back and fix up this fragile human child. 

“There there, it’ll be alright,” he tried to turn up the Calming Angel Aura™ while patching up the forehead cut on the sobbing child. To his surprise, it worked, and Kishibe clung onto his waist, overcome with hiccups from so much crying. Carefully reaching down, he pet the boy’s fluffy hair and wondered just how many changes this would bring into his very, very long life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.  
> \---  
> I made my friend [ Squigs ](https://twitter.com/squigdraws) reenact the scolding scene with me in ACNH, except in the kids future room. ;D
> 
> *inhale*
> 
> AFURO TERUMI!


	2. registration day

_Children are so loud._

Aphrodi honestly didn’t need much sleep, but still, lazing about with his husband cuddled up next to him had been one of the many simple joys of his domestic life. Now? Now he woke up to a cold bed, while his husband was in the kitchen trying to make breakfast for the entire family. Yes, _family_. They were a family of four now. Sighing to himself, he got up and dragged fingers through the golden strands of hair that had fallen in front of his face, pulling all of it back except a few stray strands that fell stubbornly across the middle of his forehead. Preening his feathers would have to wait, for now he had to go out and help with the kids. 

Fubuki had taken a week off of work, figuring it was for the best to stay home and help Aphrodi sort everything out. Paperwork had to be filed, family registries updated, and many supplies had to be bought to accommodate for their newest additions. The poor children were still a little subdued due to shock, but were starting to open up bit by bit after another round of proper introductions. One that involved Fubuki becoming a wolf and giving them rides on his back. Being fluffy was always a plus with children. 

“Doggy!” Fubuki looked down to see Yukimura glaring up at him while holding an empty, but colorful plastic cup. After checking what they already owned in the house, the two adults had gone on a rushed shopping trip to get childproof _everything_. Aphrodi’s previously elegantly decorated penthouse that lent itself to pale blue, gold, and white accents now looked like a crayon box had exploded all over it. Children’s items unfortunately tended to be garishly colorful and extremely obtuse. 

“Are you thirsty? Here, let me get you some water,” Fubuki took the cup, filling it modestly with water and handed it back to Yukimura, who carefully balanced it on his hands. He looked up to see Aphrodi trailing out of his bedroom, Kishibe already latched onto his calf. Without even blinking, Aphrodi scooped him up, carrying the boy in his arms and walked over to the kitchen. 

“Good morning,” Aphrodi leaned in and gave Fubuki a kiss on the cheek. Fubuki smiled, glad that at least this routine was unchanged. 

“Kishibe sure likes you,” Fubuki remarked as he beheld the sleepy child burrowing deeper into Aphrodi’s arms. After the couch incident, Kishibe seemed to seek out Aphrodi for cuddling every day. Neither of them really knew much about the children’s pasts, something that Fubuki was a bit worried about. The adoption sheets had been a bit vague, just that there were no living relatives that would take them in. 

“Yeah,” Aphrodi softly agreed as he reached up to rub Kishibe’s back. Fingers trailing up to brush aside the boy’s hair, he checked the bright pink band-aid that was stuck over the small cut on his forehead. At first he had been stiff and unsure as to how to handle the boy. Although, after a few days in, he felt like he was a cuddle master with children by now. Unfortunately, Yukimura still didn’t like giving him cuddles so his sample size was a bit small.

“Doggy!” Yukimura’s little voice floated up again as he thrust the now-empty cup up into the air at Fubuki. 

“Ah, let’s get you some food before you fill up that tummy with water.” Fubuki herded him over to the dining table that now had booster seats strapped onto two chairs. Aphrodi followed suit and gently peeled Kishibe off of him, depositing him into one of the two chairs. Walking back to the kitchen with Fubuki, he helped bring over the plates of fruits and waffles that constituted breakfast.

“‘Doggy’, huh?” Aphrodi teased Fubuki as he headed back to grab some forgotten utensils. Fubuki was currently struggling with the new plastic pitcher that was not as conducive to use as the expensive glass one they previously had. 

“I’d really rather wish he’d call me ‘Daddy’. I just hope Kishibe doesn’t pick it up as well.” came Fubuki’s crestfallen response. They were accepting of the fact that he was a werewolf now, but he hadn’t accounted for the fact that they now thought he was just a big puppy. The children wanted to play with ‘Doggy’ all day, which was cute except he had things to do that involved having opposable thumbs.

“They haven’t given _me_ any nicknames yet,” Aphrodi sadly replied as he headed back towards the table. He’d been enthusiastically trying to get them to call him ‘Papa’ but neither of them had really acknowledged as such. Fubuki suspected that Kishibe just liked the fluffy angel feathers more than the angel himself. 

Breakfast went quickly with minimal spills and messes--a win for the household in general. Tidying up, Aphrodi was loading the dishes into the dishwasher as Fubuki got the kids to help bring them over. 

“We’ll be going out today!” Fubuki announced with a smile as he helped them get onto the stool to wash their hands. So far they’d been keeping them at home, only sending out one adult at a time to take care of errands. Today was special, though: they had to file paperwork that the whole family had to be present for.

“Out! Out!” The two kids started chanting (more like screaming) while running around with still-wet hands from excitement. Aphrodi had noticed how they liked to stare down at the outside world out of the penthouse’s floor-to-ceiling windows. It was a good thing they weren’t scared of heights, he mused. Something useful to know for the future. 

Aphrodi approved of their outfits today, wrestling them into their new clothes he’d recently picked out.. He’d gone and bought out entire racks of clothing, unsure of what would look best on them. Matching outfits for the two kids was definitely the best thing he’d thought of in the past century. The two looked absolutely adorable in the sailor-style navy blue and white outfits, complete with matching striped socks and cuffed shorts. 

“Look this way! Let’s take a photo!” Aphrodi knelt down and managed to snap a few cute photos on his phone before the kids tumbled over to Fubuki to tug on his human ears and hair.

“Ouch! I’m not a wolf right now!” Standing up, Fubuki grasped each of their little hands and marched them over to the entryway. “Now stand still, let’s get your hats on.” Tying the ends of the navy bucket hats under their chins, Fubuki adjusted them to sit properly on their heads while Aphrodi finished packing up all the paperwork. 

“I’m ready!” Aphrodi called over as he slipped on his shoes, signaling that he’d just finished packing up. Grasping Yukimura’s floundering hand, they exited in a single file line into the elevator to head out to the open world below.

\---

In hindsight, Fubuki was secretly glad he had talked Aphrodi out of buying a convertible a few years back. Now that they had kids, a convertible seemed like a surefire way to lose one on the road. Matching car seats were in the back with Fubuki nestled in the middle to keep an eye on them. To Fubuki’s surprise, Aphrodi was driving more carefully than he had ever seen the reckless angel do in his life. He’d never seen Aphrodi look twice before merging or actually respecting right of way. Aphrodi really did care about these kids after all. 

“Where are we going?” Kishibe asked as he played with Fubuki’s hand. He wished the big doggy was back. 

“To visit a special friend,” Fubuki indulgently replied. Noticing Yukimura’s unwavering stare, he reached over and gently ruffled the small boy’s hair. Yukimura was the shyer one of the two, but still wanted the same amount of attention that Kishibe demanded.

“Are we there yet?” 

Aphrodi groaned from the driver’s seat in response to Yukimura’s question. A phrase as old as time that he knew he was going to hate in about twenty minutes. 

“No.” he evenly replied, bracing himself for the ensuing questions. Answering each little voice in monotone, he hoped just as hard as the children that they would quickly arrive at their destination. Sure enough, by the time they pulled up in front of the sleek and modern brick building with brass inlays, Aphrodi wanted to pull his halo down over his ears. 

“Fubuki, can you just, like, give them both a nip and put them to sleep?” Aphrodi wearily asked as he helped unbuckle Kishibe from the car seat. Fubuki gave him a wry smile in response.

“I’m not a were-komodo dragon, so no.” 

“What’s a komodo dragon?” Yukimura asked as Fubuki gently set him down on the ground. Grabbing his hand before the boy could run off in any direction, Fubuki guided him to the entrance of the building before answering.

“Big lizards with gooey spit that will put you to sleep,” he patiently explained. Maybe a zoo trip was in order--always good to go say hi to his cousins anyways.

“Ew…” came Yukimura’s reply as he tried to run up the stairs. Fubuki lifted him up so he wouldn’t trip and fall over them. Then the mismatched family pushed their way into the waiting room of the large building.

Once inside, Aphrodi parked both kids around the childrens play area, letting them tumble around while he strode up to the receptionist. Pulling out an ID card, he placed it on the counter.

“Ah, good to see you again, Aphrodi!” With decorative red glasses flashing on top of her blue bob cut, Aphrodi always approved of Haruna’s bold color choices. Taking his ID card, she checked his information then handed it back to him. 

“Your appointment is in 10 minutes, he should be ready for you right on time.” Eyes twinkling with curiosity, she leaned over the counter to better see the rest of the family. 

“Hi Fubuki! Hello boys!” She called over, waving her hand to catch his attention. Fubuki, who had been bent over quietly talking to the kids, straightened slightly to reply with a shy smile and wave of the hand. Kishibe and Yukimura clustered themselves closer to the receptionist desk, curious as to who was calling out to them. 

“Aww, they’re so cute!” Haruna squealed as she finally got a good look at the two boys. “I was so surprised when I saw the meeting schedule, but good on you two for taking the next step! Do you boys want some candy?” Picking up the bowl next to her, she held it over the edge of the desk so they could see it better. That got the desired reaction, as the two kids bolted from Fubuki’s side to go dig for some candy. Yukimura grabbed a clear blue soda candy while Kishibe picked out a small chocolate bar. 

“Ahaha, thanks…” Aphrodi wasn’t sure if he was at all prepared to take the next step, but here he was at the supernatural registry office to formally do so. 

“Hey, only one candy each.” Fubuki lectured as he tried to make Yukimura put back an extra candy hidden in the palm of his other hand. Not a moment later, the door opened behind the receptionist desk, a strange-looking man peeking out from behind it. Goggles, cape, and dreadlocks pulled back into a tight ponytail, Kidou waved at them in greeting.

“I heard you guys outside, I’m ready now if you’d like to come in.” Kidou’s brows furrowed as he beheld the sight of a crying Kishibe and a distressed Fubuki trying to make Yukimura keep his shoes on.

“Wait, wait, he’s a friend!” Aphrodi knelt down to comfort Kishibe before glaring up at Kidou. “How _dare_ you scare my child.”

“What-I just look like this! I can’t take off my goggles! They’re...proprietary.” Kidou protested, unsure of what else he could do to make himself look less intimidating.

“There there, don’t cry! Kidou’s a very nice big brother,” Haruna’s clear voice rang through the air as she knelt down next to the two kids to ruffle their hair. “He just wears some special glasses and keeps warm with his cape! Give me a smile and I’ll give you guys some more yummy candy.” She waved some lollipops that had appeared from inside of her desk. Evidently this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence.

“Clever, making your sister be your PR agent,” Aphrodi remarked to Kidou as they finally made their way into the office. Each child was now sucking contently on a lollipop. After all, it was really hard to cry when a piece of candy was in one’s mouth. Aphrodi appreciated the genius of it and made a mental note.

“I...didn’t mean for that to happen,” Kidou responded, exasperated. Kids were always so intimidated by him, maybe he really should get rid of the cape. 

“Aren’t you human, Kidou? I wonder why they’re scared of you...I’m pretty sure they came from a human orphanage,” mused Aphrodi. Inter-species mixing was quite common nowadays, but children tended to keep to their own species in fear of them accidentally hurting each other. 

“Doesn’t mean all humans get along,” came the sarcastic reply. In hindsight, Kidou did have a point there, wars didn’t start themselves. Settling into the chairs in front of the large and stately hardwood desk, the kids perched on Fubuki and Aphrodi’s laps. Neither adult trusted the kids to stay still and keep their hands off the many eccentric items around the room. A slightly corroded brass sign on Kidou’s desk read [Kidou Yuuto - Paranormal Investigator]. An outdated term, he thinks, but his position had been created a long time ago when species didn’t get along quite as well as they do in this age. Nowadays, he mostly functioned as a point of contact for all species in his jurisdiction. Complaints, family additions, rule adjustments, all of them were brought to his desk. Today was no different, but it did require the whole family to be present while he ran some tests. 

“Alright,” reaching up, he tapped the side of his goggles. Information was easily displayed on the lenses, ranging from body temperature to species to age. More reliable than any glasses that could be bought off the rack, his were specially made for paranormal investigators. _Archangel [999], werewolf [27] ...human [5] and human [5]._ Jotting down the species and age on good ol’ paper and pencil, he always slightly wondered what Aphrodi’s real age was. The frivolous angel had written down ‘21’ when he had first moved here and his readings didn’t go past 999. Always a problem with long-lived species like dragons and angels.

“Now let me get this straight, you two have already formally adopted these two human children through a _human_ adoption agency and are just registering them _now_ under your supernatural household?” When he had gotten the call from a very distraught Aphrodi, it had taken him a good 20 minutes to get all the information straight. It still didn’t make very much sense to him even now.

“Yeah,” Fubuki took over the conversation at this point, something Kidou appreciated since Aphrodi tended to lean towards the dramatic. “God sent Aphrodi to the orphanage to make him work his guardian angel duties and teach him a lesson to not use work privileges outside of work. So now we’re in charge of these two boys here. We just wanted to make sure they were properly registered before we started looking into schools.” Yukimura looked up at Fubuki in slight alarm at the last word. 

_Ah. Divine intervention._ He should’ve guessed that. Nothing one could do when God straight up came and hit someone with a lightning bolt. The singed feathers on Aphrodi were sign enough. Mentally shrugging, he began to get the paperwork in place. Simple questions were asked and ID cards were drawn up for the children. 

“I’ll take care of those,” Fubuki reached over and pocketed the freshly printed cards. The kids clambered onto his lap, curious, and he pulled them out and showed them their photos and pointed at their names. An iridescent seal printed with kraken ink shimmered on the card, fascinating the two kids.

“This, too, should help.” Kidou pulled out a decently thick booklet from a file cabinet and handed it over to Aphrodi. Glancing down at the colorful cover that depicted a happy inter-species family, he read the title: [Steps to Success: Family!].

“Thanks…” Aphrodi thumbed through it, noting the cute illustrations of demons, sirens, angels, and every once in a while a normal human. Hopefully there would be some human-raising advice in here. The only humans he really knew were Kidou, Haruna, and Rococo’s husband. Now that he thought about it, maybe he needed to widen his friendship circle a bit. 

“Tomorrow we’ll be going to look for a preschool, so thanks for getting us in so quickly,” Fubuki commented to Kidou as he got up from the chair, kids in tow. 

“Do you have one in mind already?” Kidou asked, curious. There were a few that were restricted to certain species, but seeing that this was already a mixed species family there were some that he might recommend.

“No...we barely started looking into it since we were unsure if we could get them registered in time.”

“There’s a good one nearby. Windy Farms, have you heard of them?” The look of confusion on both the adult’s faces was enough of an answer. “Well, they work with inter-species families, so it might be a good fit for your kids.” It felt weird saying that to Aphrodi, but the archangel seemed to have accepted his new role quite readily, cradling Kishibe in his arms again. 

“Oh, that sounds great.” Fubuki smiled gratefully at Kidou. “Could you give us the address? We’ll be sure to stop by tomorrow, hopefully the kids will like it.” A hastily scrawled post-it note was passed over and the family got up to leave. 

“Let me know if you need any other help or information,” Kidou called out to them as they exited his office. Fubuki said something to the kids, and both of them turned around to wave little hands at him. 

“Bye bye!”

“Bye goggles mister!”

_Ah, maybe it was the goggles that were intimidating..._


	3. oh school...OH HOSPITAL?

“Is this it?” Aphrodi walked carefully down the street with both children’s hands tightly grasped in his. Fubuki was walking ahead of the group, checking his phone to see if they were in the right place. Stopping outside of the cute, white tile building front, he gazed up at the colorful painted windows that showcased rolling hills and several wind turbines. The wooden sign on top had colorful block letters reading [Windy Farms]. Children’s drawings were plastered all over the windows, and a small garden seemed to have taken root next to the wooden steps leading up to the entrance.

“Yes, I think so,” Fubuki double checked his phone, then pocketed it upon verifying their location. Leaning down to catch Yukimura’s hand, the four of them filed through the front door to enter the lobby. Bubbling laughter and screams of excited children could be heard down the hall, but the jingle of an enchanted bell cut through the building when Fubuki pushed open the door. 

_Old fashioned,_ Aphrodi thought with surprise. Normally buildings nowadays just used doorbells, but upon looking around he could see traditional spells all over the place. Some were hidden and some were in plain sight, like the lucky cat on the counter that flipped him off as he passed. They were never nice to rich people. 

Not a moment later, a strong gust of wind whirled around them, and a blue haired beauty seemed to land right in front of them. Aphrodi could be appreciative of anyone beautiful, and this was no exception. With long blue lashes that slightly veiled the one visible hazel eye, this person's hair was done up in a way that covered the other eye and ended in a long ponytail. With the way that the decorative wind turbines were now spinning in the previously stagnant room, Aphrodi could easily guess this person’s species--a wind siren. Beautiful with a bewitching voice, he hadn’t seen many of them around, but wasn’t surprised to find one as a preschool teacher. Kids were hard to handle after all, and hypnotism always made the job easier.

“Um, hello.” The siren nervously greeted them. Evidently, this one wasn’t as charismatic as some he’d met in the past. Aphrodi decided to speak up before the air froze over from the awkwardness of the situation.

“Hello, we’re interested in taking a look around your preschool and possibly enrolling our children,” Aphrodi stepped forward to introduce himself. “I’m Aphrodi, this is my husband Fubuki, and our children Yukimura and Kishibe.” He gestured to each one in turn while introducing them. 

“Ah, alright,” the siren seemed to look even more stressed at this information, a true feat. “I’m the preschool teacher, Kazemaru. I can give you a tour once I get the children settled down. I’m the only one in right now, so we’re sort of short staffed…” he trailed off. “Oh, but we have a small group of kids, so it’s alright!” He hastily tacked on the end, realizing how that comment might sound to prospective parents.

“Thank you, we’ll wait here, then,” Fubuki tried to assure the frazzled teacher with a smile. A grateful nod was given in reply and another strong gust of wind indicated that he had left. Yukimura and Kishibe cautiously detached from the two adults to explore the waiting room. Soft toy blocks were available to play with, along with plenty of children’s books. Aphrodi knelt down to help keep the kids occupied while Fubuki went up and started reading through some of the brochures that were available at the front desk. Glancing to the side, he saw the lucky cat wink at him with a slight paw wave. The echoes from down the hall seemed to have quieted down, and in a half hour Kazemaru reappeared before them in his signature gust of wind.

“Thanks for waiting,” he gave them a nervous smile. “It’s nap time for the kids now, so we’ll have a bit of time to walk around. I do ask that we keep it down when going around so as to not wake up the other kids.” 

“Of course,” the two adults readily replied. Yukimura and Kishibe got a quiet explanation for why they were to be very quiet, and both of them nodded their understanding. Hand in hand, they each latched onto an adult and entered the long wooden hallway after putting on indoor slippers. 

“We only have one small class, four days a week Monday through Thursday,” Kazemaru began to explain the logistics to them. “We start at 9 in the morning and end at 1 in the afternoon. Lunch is provided, but we will also have special days when kids can bring their own lunch. Since we are a mixed preschool, we emphasize free choice and interspecies understanding. Of course, we have safety factors in place, since children often find it hard to control their powers.” Kazemaru waved over to an assortment of safety items to the side, ranging from fire blankets to spill kits.

“May I ask…?” Kazemaru gestured over to the two kids who were looking around wide-eyed at all the colorful walls and cubbies. 

“Ah, they’re human, adopted.” Fubuki clarified. “I’m a werewolf and Aphrodi is an archangel.”

“Oh. I see.” Kazemaru wasn’t sure what the story was here, but tuition money was more important than his curiosity. Turning slightly into an open room, he drew aside the colorful cotton curtains that were hanging over the doorway. The family of four peeked inside the darkened room, seeing about a dozen kids napping on the floor. Each had their individual mat and blankets, and some were even holding stuffed animals. Fubuki sniffed the air, trying to determine if there were specific scents he recognized. He almost popped out his tail in surprise upon tasting a rare metallic scent - vampire. His eyes caught on one kid that was staring at them in the dark. The 19th century clothing and bonnet next to the kid was proof enough. Aphrodi, on the other hand, didn’t even need to look into the room to know a demon child was in there. His halo was aching from the proximity of being so close, but he was off the clock, so he didn't have to take care of this one. Instead, he opted to ignore it.

“Quite an...assortment here.” Aphrodi remarked as they pulled back from the dark classroom. He was a bit worried that there weren’t any other human kids in the mix.

“Everyone gets along quite well!” Kazemaru hurriedly responded. “And for insurance, I am a full-blooded wind siren. The children are still young enough that I can control them if any mishaps happen. We are proud to be an injury-free preschool!” 

“Oh that’s great!” Fubuki sincerely responded. Aphrodi, on the other hand, wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what an injury-prone preschool was like. The tour took them through the little building to the other rooms. Indoor playroom, a small library, and most importantly, an outdoor playground. 

“We do emphasize hands-on learning here, and there is plenty of space for play and interaction with nature in our large, enclosed playground.” Kazemaru explained to them as he opened the screen door. Kishibe immediately ran over to one of the rocking horses on the grass and Yukimura cautiously slapped one of the tires laying nearby. 

Aphrodi approved of how secure this playground looked, with the high wooden fence around it along with netting that was draped across the top. You never knew when a kid would just decide to fly away. There were some scorch marks on the wood, but it seemed to be fire-treated so that was comforting.

Rounding the kids up to head back inside, Fubuki noticed how they seemed disappointed to leave the inviting play space. That was a good sign. Combined with how they seemed to want to explore all the different areas of the small preschool, he was starting to think this might be the perfect fit. Glancing over at Aphrodi, he saw the familiar, narrowed eyes that were normally used when the idiot was calculating a sale price. 

“Now, about tuition…” Aphrodi walked closer to Kazemaru and began a hushed discussion amongst themselves. Of course he’d try to bargain out a two-for-one deal--they had two kids, after all. Fubuki left Aphrodi to it; they’d go over all the information tonight, anyway. 

The group stopped at the front desk as Kazemaru handed them some paperwork to fill out should they choose to enroll the children. ID cards were passed over, and information was quickly checked. Kazemaru’s one visible brow arched in surprise when looking through the files.

“It says here that they don’t have any health information yet. The kids can’t enroll until they’ve been fully immunized.” Kazemaru handed back the ID cards to a confused Fubuki. “I recommend you get them to a family doctor or schedule a general hospital visit to get all that information filled out. Even if you don’t decide to enroll here, that’s a requirement at any preschool.”

“Oh I see, we didn’t know that,” Fubuki tried to sound like he wasn’t a failure of a parent after only three days with kids. “We’ll take them to a general hospital after this.”

“The bus line out front runs straight to the local hospital.” Helpful advice. Fubuki was starting to like this preschool teacher. “I have to head back in now, as the kids should be waking up, but I do hope to see your family here soon.” 

“Thank you for the information, we’ll let you know if we have any questions.” Nodding politely to each other, Kazemaru watched as the mismatched family left out the front door. This family seemed nice enough...although a bit out of sync. Shrugging, he heard the wind whisper in his ear that more children were stirring. Time to go back in and teach them the wonders of shapes and colors.

\---

“Is this your first bus ride?” Aphrodi asked Kishibe, who was staring wide eyed out the rattling windows. Kishibe didn’t reply, and instead grabbed the emergency window handle, causing Aphrodi to have to perform a quick intervention. 

“No, don’t grab that, that’s not for kids.” Kishibe then tried to suck on his fingers, which Aphrodi also had to put a stop to. He was really glad they were going to go check their immunizations now. Who knew what germs were roaming around, especially when his kid apparently had a tendency to lick things. 

“By this age, they should have most of their shots.” Fubuki fussed over Yukimura, turning him around slightly in his lap to check the back of his neck. He didn’t know what shots humans were required to get, but apparently they had to get rabies shots. Probably also an anti-vampire shot, important if he was going to a mixed preschool. 

“We’ll check when we get there. We brought all their paperwork, after all. Maybe it was just a transferring error,” Aphrodi comforted his husband. Otherwise, he was going to get stuck at home all day with the kids for God knows how long. Without Fubuki around he was slightly worried about losing one of them inside their giant penthouse. He briefly thought about investing in a child leash, but had a feeling Fubuki might file for divorce at that point. Maybe a backpack leash.

The bus rattled to a stop in front of the hospital and they thanked the bus driver as they stepped off. Manners were important to teach to children, after all. Forging ahead, Aphrodi took a number at the desk, then began filling out the forms. Paperwork was spread out in front of him as he transferred over important information that he hadn’t memorized just yet. Fubuki brought the kids around to greet some older folks and also check out the hospital gift shop. 

“Number 9!” 

Aphrodi got up upon hearing his number called up front. Waving over to Fubuki, the four of them assembled at the front desk. 

“One of our pediatricians is ready for you,” the receptionist smiled over the desk at him. “Dr. Tsunami is in the room at the end of the hall on the right. You can walk right in.” 

“Thank you,” herding the children along, they headed down the hallway to greet the new doctor. Neither of them really went to doctors themselves. Aphrodi didn’t get sick, ever, and Fubuki went to the vet. Turning right at the end of the hallway, they entered a nautical-themed room that was heavily decorated with depictions of surfing and ocean animals all over the walls. 

“Hello there!” Fluffy pink hair framed a tanned, smiling face that had a pair of thick black glasses perched on the nose. A loose doctor’s coat was draped around his body, showing a vibrant tropical themed shirt underneath. The most stunning part were his tropical themed Crocs that were decorated with surfing iconography stuck on the holes. The name [Tsunami Jousuke M.D.] was embroidered on the coat pocket in fancy black cursive, proving that this was the doctor in question.

“Looks like I’ll be your doctor today! Are you two the ones coming to see me?” He got up from the counter chair and knelt down to smile at Yukimura and Kishibe, who were cautiously hiding behind Aphrodi’s wings. Aphrodi noticed several photos in seashell frames of Tsunami and a pale brown-haired man in the corner of his desk. The brine-y smell in the air he’d noticed upon entering made sense when he saw a photo of the same brown-haired man hugging a pinkish sea lion. Tsunami was definitely a selkie. 

“Here’s the paperwork,” Aphrodi handed the stack over and Tsunami quickly looked through them all. Stopping a bit longer on one paper, he glanced down at the kids, then up at the two mismatched parents. 

“They’re adopted.” Fubuki clarified immediately, already seeing a long road ahead with having to explain this many times. 

“Ah, that’s fine! My husband is actually human, too. He really loves my skin, y’know. Loves to snuggle with it around him.” Tsunami reached over to pick up a photo frame and showed them the picture. The two seemed to be posing on a beach, and his human husband was sporting a nice floral garland. 

“Your _selkie_ skin, right?” Aphrodi desperately needed to clarify this in front of the children. 

“Yeah! Too bad it only works on me,” he beamed over a smile that threatened to blind Aphrodi with its brilliance and then pulled out some papers to fill out.

“Selkies can put on a seal skin and become a seal themselves,” Aphrodi explained to his wide-eyed children. “Doctor Tsunami here is a selkie!”

“I’ll get started on the physical examination, and I’ll let the nurse know to look into their immunization information. If you adopted them from around here then they would’ve gone through here for their shots, so we should have them on record.” Neither of the new parents needed to coax their kids to listen to the doctor, as Tsunami turned out to be a perfect pediatrician. Soon enough, both kids were lining up to get their height and weight measured while also being educated with fun seal facts. 

Relaxing in the chairs set on the side, Aphrodi gently wrapped a wing around Fubuki while they watched. His husband seemed deep in thought, probably mulling over the preschool they had toured today.

“What do you think?” Aphrodi asked in a quiet voice so as to not distract the children. 

“It’s definitely a nice preschool, and the teacher knows what he’s doing.” Fubuki leaned back in the chair and pulled out his phone. “I don’t see any other preschools that are dedicated towards mixed-species learning near us. And I don’t want you to have to drive through the city everyday to take them there. It’s not a bad choice.” 

“The tuition isn’t bad, either, I got him to give me a package deal if we do decide to enroll them,” Aphrodi flashed a knowing smile at Fubuki -- sales were still his specialty after all. “I think, compared to some of the other prices at less inclusive preschools, it’s a good choice to make.”

“The kids seemed to like the place, too, Kishibe didn’t cry a single time. He actually loved the open play area.”

“Yukimura liked it, and having a wind siren as a teacher is good. They’re quite powerful in general. The two of them should be safe there.”

After debating the merits of the preschool amongst each other, they quickly reached the same decision that Windy Farms was the way to go. The checkup was quick, and while Fubuki fussed over the children, Aphrodi reviewed the information with Tsunami. It was then that a purple-haired nurse ducked her head into the room. 

“Doctor Tsunami, I pulled their information and have the files for you.” She called over from the doorway, waving a pair of red folders.

“Oh, thank you, Fuyuka,” Tsunami went over and took the folders from her, then saw who was trying to sneak around the hallway. 

“Taiyou, get back over here,” Tsunami strolled out and caught the feisty little dragon child by the waist and scooped him up. Walking back into the room with him, he deposited Taiyou near Kishibe and Yukimura, who were looking at him with open curiosity. Fluffy orange ears and two small golden horns poked out above his eyebrows, the base of which were covered by his rowdy orange hair that cascaded around his head like miniature sunbeams. What fascinated the two the most, though, was the long gold and orange tufted dragon tail that poked out from under his hospital gown.

“It might be their first time seeing a dragon,” Aphrodi remarked with worry. Dragons were normally temperamental, and he wasn’t sure how this dragon hatchling would behave around others.

“Hello!” The tiny sun suddenly beamed with friendliness as he went up to Kishibe and Yukimura. “Are you also staying here?” Kishibe looked up at Fubuki with worry. He wasn’t sure.

“No, we’re just visiting for a checkup, you can tell him that, Kishibe.” Fubuki clarified to the small child.

“We’re just visiting.” Kishibe solemnly repeated back to Taiyou. 

“Are _you_ staying here?” Yukimura asked curiously in return. He wanted to touch that fluffy tail but it kept twitching away from him.

“Yeah! Doctor Tsunami says I have to stay here for a while. It’s because I have really hot fire breath, but when I use it too much my heart hurts.” Taiyou puffed out his chest upon giving out this information. A dragon’s pride was his elemental breath, after all.

“Ohhh can I see it?” Yukimura had never seen a fire breath before, it sounded so cool.

“But his heart….” Kishibe’s fuzzy brows knitted closer with worry. 

“Maybe another time!” Fuyuka interrupted the touching conversation while bending down to grab the young dragon’s hand. “Taiyou here is _supposed_ to be taking a nap, but I guess he wanted to go on my rounds with me. If you two come back, you’re free to visit him during visiting hours. I’m sure he’d love the company.” Taiyou was currently using Fuyuka as a freestanding jungle gym, swinging her arm around while he jumped while hanging onto it. 

“Ok!” The two kids chorused in agreement, then waved goodbye at Taiyou while he was dragged off by Fuyuka who was quietly scolding him as they walked. 

“His tail….” Yukimura stared longingly at that receding tail. He wondered how the glittery scales felt. 

“We’ll play with Doggy tonight and you can pet Doggy’s tail, alright?” Fubuki coaxed Yukimura back over to him, who brightened up upon hearing this. 

“Pet dog?” Tsunami asked Aphrodi as he finished passing over copies of their immunization records.

“Nah, just Fubuki. He turns into a wolf for them, but they just think he’s a big dog.” Aphrodi smiled as he looked down at Kishibe, who was clinging onto his pants and staring at some of the sea animals on the wall. “The kids love it.” 

“That’s great! Kids need plenty of stimulation, and exposing them to different species while they’re young is a great thing to do. I’ll fax these over to Windy Farms and you should be all set.” 

“Thank you,” Aphrodi bent down then scooped Kishibe up into his arms again. He thought he’d be tired of doing this by now, but seeing Kishibe’s smile every time warmed his heart. 

“Now let’s go home and make dinner.” he said as they headed out the door. Fubuki took Yukimura’s hand and they headed after the glowing archangel. Tsunami smiled as he finished up writing down notes in their files. Definitely an interesting family to keep an eye on as the kids grew up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anti-vampire shots makes your blood taste like Nintendo switch cartridges. (Thanks to my beta, RC)  
> \---
> 
> Dragon Taiyou!
> 
> \---
> 
> Hospital waiting room vibes.


	4. ZOO TRIP!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention that I reject Aphrodi's GO hairstyle so here he just has long golden hair - sorry that dip dye action just doesn't do it for me.

The early morning sky was cloudy as the odd family of four piled out of the car. Positioning the two kids so they weren’t standing on the roadway, Fubuki started spraying them down with sunscreen while Aphrodi loaded himself up with the bags from the trunk. Reaching into the back to try and grab some wet wipes that had decided to go on vacation into the depths of the backseat, Aphrodi felt a sunscreen-covered hand grab one of his pristine pinions.

“Kishibe,” he saw the expectant look in the boy’s eyes, but unfortunately he was not built out of solid muscle. “Papa’s carrying a lot of things today, so we’re going to have to walk side by side, OK?” Kishibe’s eyes started to well up slightly, causing Aphrodi to panic.

“Wait wait, what did Kazemaru-sensei say?” Fubuki reached over and adjusted the straw hat on his little head. “We have to try new things, right?” 

“Oh…” Kishibe thought for a moment, then nodded. He was going to try something new today - not use Papa as a carriage. Fubuki smiled, satisfied that he had been going over the papers that were sent home everyday. It had been two weeks since they had started going to the preschool. The adjustment period had been quite swift, and now the kids seemed eager to go every day. As a reward for their good behavior, they were spending this Saturday at the zoo, something Fubuki had promised them last week. 

“Now let’s hold hands - oh no, Yukimura,” Fubuki grabbed the boy before he could wander off any farther. “Remember, roads are dangerous, you have to stay near Daddy.” Linking hands, they headed towards the zoo entrance to buy their tickets. 

Aphrodi handed some bags to Fubuki, who happily shared the load. Eyes wandering, he suddenly saw the sexiest red convertible parked carefully near the entrance. He had wanted a car like that so badly, but Fubuki had made him get a “normal car that won’t attract speeding tickets.” He wondered who would bring that to a zoo, though, maybe someone trying to impress a date. Getting in line, they made their way through the turnstiles, quickly buying their tickets and making their way to the first exhibit: flamingos.

“Ohhh, look at how they’re standing only on one leg,” Aphrodi remarked as he pulled out his phone. Snapping pictures of the two curious kids leaning against the iron fencing, he found their pink and blue outfits perfect with the flamingo backdrop. His children were such little angels. 

“Here’s a list of the exhibits and feeding times.” Fubuki walked back over while holding a pamphlet. “The kids probably don’t have enough energy to run through the entire zoo, but we should try to cover as much as we can.”

“It says here there’s a children’s zoo, why don’t we head in that direction? And the picnic area is right next to it, so we can eat there.” Aphrodi traced his finger along the decently straightforward path, hopefully short enough that the children could enjoy the animals along the way without tiring themselves out. 

“Sounds great,” Fubuki closed the pamphlet and carefully put it into one of the many bag pockets. “Here boys! Want Daddy to read the information to you?” He walked over to the information panel, where the two boys were peeking at the photos displayed on it. Fubuki had barely finished reading the first few lines before they had already started wandering back to try and pose like flamingos with one leg.

“Not every day has to be educational,” Aphrodi wryly remarked as he pat Fubuki’s back lightly with a wing. “Let them enjoy themselves.” 

The kids truly were enjoying themselves, too, eagerly browsing each exhibit along the route. Pit stops were made along the way to eat a small snack, drink some water, and more urgently, use the restroom. Moving along past the aviary, Fubuki smelled a familiar scent in the air.

“The wolf exhibit is next,” he called out to the kids who were wandering up in front of them.

“Wolf?” Yukimura asked, curious eyes gazing up at him.

“Big doggies like Daddy,” Aphrodi clarified.

“Ohhh!” Both of them ran forward, excited at the prospect of petting lots of big doggies, only to be met with disappointment upon realizing they were hedged-in on a long walkway above the exhibit. A sign that read [No howling] was propped up near the entrance. Fubuki walked over and saw that no wolves were in sight.

“I can’t see them anywhere….” Aphrodi narrowed his eyes, trying to spot the elusive wolves that were possibly lounging in the shadows of the trees. Fubuki was silent next to him, thinking. 

“Where are the doggies?” Kishibe’s plaintive question solidified Fubuki’s decision. Glancing around, he was glad it was early morning, as not many people were around yet. He knelt down on the walkway, letting only his ears and tail grow out, then let loose a series of yips and barks. Aphrodi jumped in surprise, then hurriedly opened up his wings to shield the four of them from view. 

Sure enough, within a few minutes a pack of wolves loped out from a hidden area behind some distant rocks to come see who had called out to them. Fubuki gave another low bark to draw their attention, while Kishibe and Yukimura excitedly squealed at seeing so many “doggies”. 

Tails wagging, the wolves assembled under the walkway to better see and speak to their cousin. Aphrodi nervously waved at them. He didn’t understand a word of what they were saying to each other, but the kids were happy and that’s what mattered. Reaching around, he pulled out his phone and got them to pose for a photo with the wolves behind them, while Fubuki was still crouched in the background holding conversation.

[Cousin! How are you?] One of the wolves, the most rugged looking one called up to Fubuki, tail waving in greeting.

[Good, how is your pack?] Fubuki hadn’t seen them in about a year. They didn’t generally make trips to the zoo too often.

[All is well! We had some new pups this spring! They are still nursing in the den so they cannot greet you yet.] One of the smaller wolves off to the side gave the rugged one a lick on the nose. He wanted to talk to Fubuki, too.

[Oh that’s great, I got some new pups, too.] Fubuki reached over and patted Yukimura and Kishibe’s heads affectionately. 

[New pups! New pups!!] The wolves immediately started yipping and jumping around in excitement. They’d known Fubuki for many years now, but for him to finally have pups was exciting news. Something they’d bugged him about every time he had come by. 

[They smell different.] Remarked the smaller wolf, sniffing the air trying to sense what the pups were like. 

[They’re human.] Fubuki couldn’t believe he was now clarifying this in a different language to _wolves_.

[Human! Big chickens and werewolves make a human?] Confusion reigned within the group as they tried to logic out how genetics worked. 

[Adopted. But still my pups.] Fubuki glanced up to see the two kids watching the conversation happen with fascinated eyes. Yukimura knelt down next to Fubuki and then barked at the wolves. 

[Oh!] All the wolves stopped and gathered underneath Yukimura.

[Little pup! Hello!] Tails wagging, they chorused up a slew of greetings, scaring Yukimura slightly.

“They’re just saying hello,” Fubuki smiled and propped a hand against Yukimura’s back. “You can say hello to them too, like this.” He voiced out a small yip, and Yukimura’s little voice tried to mimic the sound. Kishibe had sidled over and also tried to greet the wolves with a soft yip as well. 

“Fubuki.” Aphrodi glanced to the side where other families were starting to come over to get a better look at all the wolves. “We might have to move soon, if you don’t want to get caught doing this.” 

“Ah, alright.” Fubuki called a quick goodbye back down to the wolves, promising to visit more often so the pups could meet each other next time, then straightened up to guide Kishibe and Yukimura away. They were excited about seeing so many doggies, and wanted to stop by the wolf gift shop nearby to pick up some souvenirs. 

“Are you sure you want to buy something now? You only get one item each. ” Fubuki asked them as they wandered through the store. “There’s plenty of other stores along the way.” 

“We want to be like Daddy!” Yukimura called up to him as he grabbed a plush wolf head hat and placed it on his head. That was when Fubuki realized he’d forgotten to get rid of his ears and tail. Hurriedly summoning them back in, he saw Aphrodi giggling on the side. That bastard hadn’t told him at all.

One quick transaction later (where he made Aphrodi pay), and Fubuki watched as two tiny pseudo-wolf pups ran ahead of him to the lion exhibit. 

“So cute...the grey doesn’t match their outfits, though,” Aphrodi pouted as he took a video of them running around. 

“Good thing we still put sunscreen on them, those hats give no shade at all,” Fubuki remarked, glancing up at the now cloudless sky. Lunchtime was fast approaching, but they still had enough time to get a look at the lion exhibit and still make it to the picnic area. Striding over to the kids clustered at the glass handrails, he took in the majestic enclosure, complete with lounging lions scattered across the rocks and dry grass. 

“Lions!” Kishibe was being extremely vocal at the zoo, but it was hard not to be when presented with so many different animals. 

“Here, Kishibe, want a better look?” Aphrodi reached down and boosted Kishibe up so he was able to look over the guardrail. Crying out in delight, Kishibe propped his hands on it and leaned over.

“Aphrodi! Careful!” Fubuki didn’t like how dangerously Kishibe was hanging over the side. Yukimura tugged on Fubuki’s pants. He wanted to go up high, too. 

“It’ll be alright!” Aphrodi replied, just as Kishibe inched his head down too far and dropped his new wolf hat into the enclosure. 

“Ahhh!” Aphrodi had to pull Kishibe back before the kid could throw himself over the guardrail to try and get the hat. Fubuki could only watch in shock as Kishibe burst into tears.

“Wait, Aphrodi, no flying!” Fubuki grabbed Aphrodi’s shoulder, seeing how the archangel was about to tumble over the edge to retrieve the hat. “Remember the signs!” When entering the zoo there had been a long list of rules, and “No Flying” was at the top of them. Animal and visitor interaction was severely frowned upon due to all the different species present. Fubuki had already been toeing that line when he’d spoken to his wolf cousins.

“But-!” Aphrodi looked over at him, stricken with panic. “Oh Kishibe, it’ll be alright, Papa will buy you a new one.” Aphrodi knelt down to comfort a crying Kishibe while Yukimura came over to hold his hand, worried. Fubuki took the moment to hurry to the guardrail to try and spot where the unfortunate hat had landed. Leaning over, a lithe movement appeared from the corner of his eye. Gasping in surprise, he watched as a large lion stalked towards the defenseless hat with his powerful muscles. 

“Oh no,” he whispered, fearing the worst. If that lion destroyed the cap in front of the children, their day would be ruined. They would probably be traumatized, too. Glancing behind him, he saw that Aphrodi had cocooned the two boys in his wings, trying to console Kishibe and luckily blocking out the view. 

“Hey!” Fubuki hissed down angrily at the lion, trying to scare him off from the cap before he could do his worst. A wild mane of rioting brown hair framed the face of the lion. Two darker stripes that started from the mossy green eyes and ended against the edge of his mane, marking him out from the other lions lounging about. The lion looked up at him upon hearing the sound, those green eyes meeting teal for a moment. Then he continued forward, carefully picking up the cap in his mouth and launching it up into the air towards Fubuki.

“Wh-!” Fubuki reached out and grabbed it, noting the lion slobber on the side, but grateful to have gotten it back. Bending back over, he saw the lion watching him, tail twitching from side to side. Seemingly satisfied that Fubuki had gotten it back, he turned and went back to the slab of rock that he had been sunning himself on from before, but not without first giving him a wink.

“Kishibe! Look!” Fubuki hurried over and parted the thick wall of wings to present the cap to the upset child. “A nice lion returned it back to you!” 

“Oh!!” Aphrodi was delighted at this fact, and after cleaning it off with some wet wipes, the cap was placed back onto Kishibe’s head as they went back to the glass to thank the lion. The lion opened one lazy eye and twitched a paw at them upon hearing the children’s yells of thanks. 

“That lion was so nice,” Aphrodi remarked as they ate lunch at a picnic table. Fubuki had packed a large bento box for the family full of each of their favorite foods. Child-friendly octopus sausages, onigiri, tamagoyaki, and a good amount of healthy veggies abounded in the colorful box. (The latter was only for health reasons, no one’s favorite food was salad.) Kishibe and Yukimura were hungry after a long morning of walking, and were dutifully stuffing themselves, leaving little room for conversation with the parents.

“I think...that was a were-lion.” Fubuki cautiously remarked as he wiped off Yukimura’s face. “He understood what I was saying, and had slightly different markings than the rest.”

“In a zoo?!” Aphrodi was shocked at this. As far as he knew all the animals here were supposed to be just...animals. 

“I think so, I’m not sure if anyone else has caught on. I thought they did blood tests before putting animals in zoos…but he didn’t seem too bothered by it. Maybe he’s just enjoying the attention and free meals.” Fubuki wondered if he should’ve done that when he had first moved to the city. Zoo lifestyle seemed a lot more cost-efficient than “poor college student” lifestyle.

“Interesting….” Packing up the now-empty bento box, Aphrodi was relieved that his packs were much lighter than before. His wings were starting to ache from the weight. He envied the parents whose kids still fit in strollers. Such convenient baggage handlers.

After cleaning up each kid and a quick bathroom trip, they were ready to go to the children’s zoo. Kishibe had one hand tightly clinging onto the wolf hat, not wanting to lose it again, while Yukimura skipped ahead, eager to see what animals were within. They entered through a colorful wooden arch of fake trees with animals carved into it. The area was built with children in mind, so they could easily view the animals without a boost from a parent. Simple and easy to read signs were placed at each enclosure, providing information to all the young kids that were present here.

“Look Kishibe, Yukimura! There’s the petting zoo!” Aphrodi spotted a barn in the back, complete with a washstation before the gates and a long list of instructions of dos and don’ts. Ignoring the sign completely, he guided the kids over to the washstation to help them correctly lather up their hands, letting Fubuki do the reading instead. During this messy process, he accidentally bumped his wings into someone that was using the faucet next to him. 

“Sorry!” He pulled his wings back in and ducked forward to see who he had accidentally hit. Two obsidian horns were the first things he saw, and then the scaled tail of a...dragon.

_Oh shit._

“It’s alright.” The dragon replied as he looked back down at a child he was also guiding to wash their hands correctly. Aphrodi did a quick vertical sweep of the man, noting the expensive wine-red and black suit along with the copious amounts of gold and emerald jewelry draped over him. The shoulder length blonde hair with dripping blue tips was an...interesting hairstyle choice, too. The child was a dragon hatchling as well, sporting small white horns and long unwieldy white and purple hair that was held back in a long, low ponytail. Weird group to find at the petting zoo. 

“Hakuryuu, rinse your hands properly.” The older dragon caught the kid’s wrists and made him fully wash the soap off his hands. “There. Now we can go pet the goats.”

“Goats?!?!” Yukimura popped his head through Aphrodi’s wings to stare. “I want to pet goats, too!” 

“We will pet the goats,” Fubuki evenly responded as he came over to also wash his hands. “But you have to be nice to the goats. No pulling their tails or ears, just gentle pats. Understand?”

“Ok!” Agreeing to the terms, the two kids pushed their way past the wooden gate into the petting zoo. Bunnies, goats, sheep, and turtles were all available to be pet under the supervision of several zoo employees. Seeing the white and black goats on the side, the kids scampered over to pet them. The waiting employee gave them a quick lesson on the do’s and don'ts of goat petting, then let them carefully reach over to pat the serene goat that was chewing on some hay. 

“He’s not very soft, is he?” Fubuki asked with a smile upon seeing the kid’s shocked expressions upon touching the goat. Its wiry coat was nothing like his soft wolf pelt. 

“Stinky….” Kishibe wrinkled his nose, as he was unfortunately petting towards the goat’s rear end. Fubuki guided Kishibe closer to the head of the goat, letting him brush his hands on the tufts under the goat’s ears. Aphrodi took photos, then straightened up to look around, spotting Hakuryuu and the older dragon standing near another goat. The child was rather aggressively petting the poor thing, while his guardian opted to stare into the distance, procuring a pair of sunglasses from somewhere. 

Moving along to pet each one, they eventually happened upon the same goat as the two dragons. 

“Do you mind?” Fubuki carefully asked as he held back Kishibe and Yukimura from running into their space. 

“Not at all,” the older dragon stepped back, letting the kids have a clear path. He eyed the two kids as they carefully pet the goat, the two of them smiling back every once in a while for Aphrodi to take a nice photo.

“Holy Emperor! This one’s got funny hair like you!” Hakuryuu yelled up to the older dragon. The goat was sporting a tuft of hair with some dirty tips at the end. An odd likeness of his dip-dyed hair.

“Hakuryuu….” Dragon societies had their own sense of politeness, and this was definitely not polite. Fortunately, he also really couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it, since it wasn’t his kid anyways. The children had begun to converse among themselves, though, which worried him. 

“My name’s Ishido. Not ‘Holy Emperor’.” Ishido remarked as he stood next to Fubuki, using the name he reserved for outsiders. “I hope he’s not being a bad influence. He doesn’t have a lot of experience with other species yet.”

“It’s just kids talk,” Fubuki replied with a generous smile. “They really wanted to pet all the goats, so thanks for allowing them to pet this one.”

“Seems like children are always like that. This is actually my cousin’s kid, I’m just taking him out for the weekend.” Ishido stared through his sunglasses at the excited group of kids, watching as Hakuryuu was now letting Yukimura pet his tail. He wasn’t sure how his nephew had become a part of the petting zoo. As they watched, another kid strode up to join them, curious as to what was happening. Sporting short black hair with two turquoise beads that marked the start of white and red striped tufts of hair that framed his face, the boy began asking which one was their favorite goat.

“I like the black one,” Yukimura announced, pointing at the first goat they had pet that was still serenely chewing hay.

“The spotted one, with the pretty horns!” Kishibe liked the smaller goat that had curly and impressive horns.

“This one. He looks like the Holy Emperor.” Hakuryuu continued patting the fashionable goat that they were standing next to. During this conversation, Aphrodi walked over to join the adults, eyes narrowing as he watched the newcomer.

“Isn’t that nice? There’s other human kids here,” Fubuki smiled up at Aphrodi whose red eyes were fixated on the child with calculating focus.

“That’s….” Aphrodi started, as the black haired boy grasped Hakuryuu’s hand and led him over to a white goat that was grazing on the side. Strange, it definitely hadn’t been there before. Kishibe and Yukimura followed, excited to pet yet another new goat.

“That’s not a human. That’s a _god_.” 

“Huh?” Both Fubuki and Ishido turned to look at him with mild confusion on their faces.

“Your boss?” Fubuki had never seen Aphrodi’s boss before, only knowing of Him through complaints that the frustrated archangel would dole out over dinner. 

“No...just a different god. _Definitely_ not human.” With that, Aphrodi went to watch over the kids, keeping a wary eye on their new friend. Kishibe and Yukimura’s interest eventually waned from the goats, moving on to look at other animals. Hakuryuu was also getting eager to see “cooler animals”, so he and Ishido bid them goodbye. 

“That new kid was nice, wasn’t he?” Aphrodi asked the two as he watched them carefully pet a fat, brown rabbit. 

“Hakuryuu?”

“Shuu?”

_So that god’s name was Shuu. Interesting._

“Mhm, both of them were nice. Papa’s happy you two are making so many new friends.” Aphrodi reached over and ruffled both of their hair. It was like his own personal petting zoo every day. Time flew by as they went through each of the animals, with Fubuki deciding to call it a day when he caught a sleepy Yukimura almost falling over into a pile of hay.

“Alright, it’s been a fun day, but we should head home,” he reached over and picked up Yukimura, carrying the sleepy child over to the wash station. After a quick cleanup of everyone’s hands, they were heading back down the path towards the parking lot. By the time they reached the car, both kids were nodding off, having used up more energy than usual over such an exciting day. Kishibe was still tightly clutching his new hat in his hands. Aphrodi let Fubuki take over securing the kids in their seats as he went to start up the car. Two familiar dragons walked by, settling into the red convertible that he had been eyeing when they arrived. Of course a dragon would have such an ostentatious vehicle. He sure wanted it.

Settling into the driver’s seat, he glanced back to see Fubuki was already buckled up and ready to go in the seat between the kids. He missed the days when his husband was in the passenger seat next to him, but seeing the sleeping children on either side, he really didn’t mind the current situation much anymore. Carefully turning the keys, he backed out to begin the drive home.


	5. picnic day!

The day was perfect for a class picnic: clear skies, lush green grass, and lots of screaming children. Aphrodi felt like the world was at peace except for the exact 50 square feet that the checkered picnic blanket covered. A dozen children were rioting across the blanket, literally poking through it in some areas with their sharp horns. Looking past, he watched Kazemaru finish setting up the boundary markers before turning around to call attention to himself. 

“Kids! Kids, be careful!” Kazemaru, without looking, waved one hand idly to lift and deposit a stray demon child in an opposite corner. “Tsurugi, you stay over there, and no more poking holes in the blanket. Tenma, don’t remove him from that corner.” A satyr-angel mix child clip-clopped over, wide innocent eyes denying the previous accusation. 

“Kazemaru-sensei...how can I help?” Honestly, Aphrodi still wasn’t quite sure why he was here. He knew that some of the other children had stay-at-home parents, yet he was the only one that had shown up to assist with the field trip. 

“Ah, Aphrodi thank you so much for coming.” His eyebags looked worse this week; that poor preschool really did seem short staffed. “Right now it would help if you kept an eye on all the kids while I start setting up the picnic activities. We actually have two more volunteers joining us shortly, so it won’t be just the two of us the whole time.” 

“Oh that’s great!” Aphrodi didn’t have any sort of long range powers, or really _any_ powers right now other than built-in feather pillows and a headlamp. The most he could do was wander around and try to keep the kids from accidentally killing each other. Meanwhile, Yukimura and Kishibe were picking grass in a corner with Tsurugi and Tenma, a fairly tame activity. Only to be joined by a pink pigtailed child, pulling along his vampire companion by his black gloved hand. 

“Shindou! Let’s make daisy chains with them!” Soft, pink rabbit ears bounced as the child raced over to where the four kids were already clustered. Stopping next to them, he looked down in disappointment. “Oh, you’re only picking grass.” 

“Daisies are past the line.” Tsurugi pointed to a patch that was lying undisturbed right outside the fence boundary. “We’re tying grass knots, instead.”

“That’s stupid.” the vampire offered up his unwanted opinion.

“Shindou!” his friend let go of his hand, propping his own on his hips. “That’s a bad word!”

“I don’t care, Kirino.” Shindou walked back over and sat down on the edge of the picnic blanket, taking care not to get grass stains onto his black dress. Picnic day sucked. He wasn’t even supposed to be out in the sunlight, but his parents insisted on him having the same experiences as all the other kids. Hence the huge hat to shield from the sun, the gloves, and the long heavy black dress that was only absorbing sunlight and causing him to overheat. 

“I care!” Kirino retorted before stepping over to where the kids were dutifully picking the longest strands of grass they could find. 

“Here!” He reached down, then took off his boots to reveal his bare feet. Closing his eyes and scrunching up his face in concentration, he took in a deep breath and then jumped. The moment the soles of his feet hit the ground, a small cluster of wildflowers and daisies bloomed around them. 

_Oh, a wood nymph._ Aphrodi thought, surprised. Those weren’t too common in the city. 

With plenty of flowers now available, all the kids excitedly scrambled to pick their favorite ones to weave into a flower chain. However, the poor wood nymph was young, and the exertion in summoning the foliage had him keeling over on his side. Aphrodi quickly grabbed a bottle of apple juice and walked over to feed Kirino some sugar. Settling him onto his lap and watching the child dutifully suck juice through the straw, he called Kazemaru over to let him know about the flower situation. Unfortunately, as he looked back around, a certain half-satyr child zoomed past his head while holding a fistful of flowers. 

“Kazemaru!” Aphrodi shouted, trying to get the siren’s attention to stop the stray flying child, as he was unable to with Kirino clinging to his arm. He wasn’t sure if the wind barrier was a dome, or a simple fence that one could simply float over. 

“Tenma!” A voice called out, two hands reaching up to pluck the child out of the sky. “Were you bringing flowers over to me?” 

After making sure Kirino was starting to perk up, Aphrodi carefully set him down next to Shindou, who put a protective arm around the wood nymph. Satisfied, he left him there to greet the surprisingly familiar newcomer. 

“Endou! I didn’t know you guys were back in the city!” Smiling, Aphrodi gave a warm hug to his old friend, then saw a figure swathed in all black athletic wear and a large sunhat approaching from over the hill. “Oh, your husband is here, too! ”

“Yep, I’m an old friend of Kazemaru, so we try to help anytime we can with these field trips. We just got back from a cruise about a week ago, it was so much fun!” Good natured and good with kids, Aphrodi could see how helpful Endou would be during preschool field excursions. Walking over to the boundary opening, he helped Rococo hoist the large cooler he was carrying. 

“Food for the kids,” Rococo clarified, “We stopped by the school and picked them up after you guys left. I haven’t seen you in a while, Aphrodi, here to help out?” The vampire reached up and adjusted the brim of his sunhat, taking care to secure the elastic under his chin. Wouldn’t do to get burnt to a crisp right now in front of these impressionable children.

“Sort of. My kids are attending school here so I’m helping out.” Aphrodi wouldn’t touch this situation with a 10 foot wooden stake otherwise. 

“Kids?!” Endou almost let go of Tenma, who immediately tried to fly off again. Grabbing his fuzzy hind leg and pulling him back, Endou began bouncing Tenma in his hands, much to the child’s delight. 

“You and Fubuki can make children?!” Rococo whirled around to take a look at all the children, trying to spot which one was theirs. He’d lived for a long time, sure, but this was a first between a species and gender pairing like this.

“No! It’s sort of complicated...we adopted two human kids. Kishibe! Yukimura! Come greet your uncles!” Ignoring the mutters from Rococo (“Uncle? I’m not THAT old!”), Aphrodi knelt down and coaxed his two boys over to greet his friends. “This is Uncle Rococo and Uncle Endou. Will you say hi to them?” 

“Hello…!” The two kids peeked from behind his wings, both curious about the newcomers but a little intimidated by the one shrouded in black.

“Hello kids!” Endou finally let Tenma go as he crouched down to greet them. “You two are human? I’m human, too!” Unfortunately, that wasn’t as good of an icebreaker as he thought it would be, as the kids didn’t budge. The two of them were still staring at Rococo, who was checking the time. 

“Rococo.” Hearing his name, Rococo glanced down to see his husband beckoning him down. Despite being unsure of why he was being asked to squat down, he did so anyways. 

“This is Uncle Rococo. he’s a vampire, so he’s hiding from the sun!” Endou introduced his husband with a friendly pat on the back, almost knocking off the sunhat. Reaching up to grab it, Rococo smiled at them, taking care to keep his fangs hidden. 

“Don’t worry, I’m a picky eater,” he teased as the kids shrunk further into Aphrodi’s wings. “I only eat from one exclusive source right now.” Dodging an embarrassed smack from Endou, he stood back up to start unpacking the food from the cooler. “Enough of that, let’s help Kazemaru out before he starts going crazy. We don’t want a repeat of the tornado incident.” 

“Tornado incident?” Aphrodi stood up to help, since the mention of food had Kishibe and Yukimura suddenly eager to cluster around Rococo instead. 

“Dark times. We don’t talk about it,” Endou clarified. “Kazemaru’s still embarrassed about it, but it was years ago. He’s fine now, went through therapy and everything.”

“I see….” Aphrodi vaguely tried to recall if he remembered any major natural disasters around here, but honestly, his memory was fuzzy--he really hadn’t handled this sector of humans in the last hundred or so years. Busying himself with sorting out the food, he let Rococo handle the bags of blood (for those with specific diets). That stuff still tended to squick him out.

Lunchtime passed quickly with little trouble, although he had to keep a few of the children from sharing food with each other. Unexpected allergies were a serious problem between species--part of why all the utensils were stainless steel. With the children chock full of food, Kazemaru spread out some extra blankets and set them up for a nap, their flower crowns draped over them as they lay down. Stretching, the rest of the adults quietly removed themselves and went to sit under a nearby tree to catch up with each other. 

Aphrodi made sure to survey the kids once in a while. Kirino had fallen asleep in the fresh flower patch, with grass growing around him as he slept, weaving a cocoon to shield him from the sun. Tsurugi and Tenma had passed out near each other, their wings, hooves, and tails knitted together under a shared blanket. Kishibe and Yukimura were surprisingly sleeping like proper normal children in their own blankets between the rest of the other kids. 

“Isn’t he going to suffocate like that?” Aphrodi pointed over at Shindou, who had fallen asleep with a heavy black blanket draped over his entire body.

“He’ll be fine, we normally sleep in coffins, so breathing isn’t an issue.” Rococo waved his gloved hand in their direction, unconcerned. Settling against the base of the tree, he waited for his husband to sit down next to him before fully relaxing in the cool shade. 

Aphrodi always wondered why vampires had such a penchant for black when they hated the sun so much. Maybe it was the whole ‘not having a warm human heart’ thing but being heated like a solar panel didn’t seem like a great alternative.

“Now for the real question, what happened for you to become a father, Aphrodi?!” Endou eagerly leaned forward to hear the story. “We leave for _one_ cruise and come back to this.” 

“Well, you guys are always on trips,” Aphrodi distinctly clarified. He wished Fubuki would agree to such a lifestyle. Rococo was just as wealthy as he was, and definitely glucose guardian’d his husband, who happily took it. Sadly, Fubuki had told him some strong words last time he suggested such a lifestyle, something along the lines of “I am not a show dog”.

Aphrodi quickly summarized the situation: how divine orders left him with two human children, and quietly leaving out details on how this was kinda his fault. It was then he suddenly remembered what he had wanted to ask Endou.

“Endou, since you’re human, I was wondering if you had any tips specifically for raising human children. ” Both he and Fubuki had read the entire pamphlet from Kidou, but the instructions were all much more general than he had hoped. Online searches hadn’t been too useful either as this odd interspecies adoption wasn’t common. Most websites assumed that you were already human if you had a human child. 

“I don’t know if he’s the best one to ask,” Rococo cut in. “He did have a bit of an unusual childhood considering where he was raised.” 

“Aw Rococo, even if I _was_ a vampire hunter I’m sure all human kids are raised pretty similarly,” Endou affectionately replied to his husband who answered with a gaze of complete adoration, but also understanding that his husband was a bit of a knucklehead. 

“Yeah!” Aphrodi enthusiastically agreed, partially due to the fact that he didn’t really know any other humans. “Are there any tips or things I should watch out for? We’ve been trying to give them plenty of outside enrichment, but unfortunately human kids are sort of fragile… it’s been hard finding suitable activities for the family.” Archangels couldn't get injured and werewolves had incredibly quick regeneration, so it had been a surprise to them when Kishibe’s scratch on his head hadn’t healed in a day. The thought of the scratch leaving a scar worried them, as it was never something that occured to them before now. 

“For enrichment, training is always good!” Endou thought back to the days when he had pored over his grandfather’s old notebook. A veritable vampire hunter, he had tried his best to live up to those legendary skills. “I suppose learning how to throw silver knives is a basic skill.”

Aphrodi gave it some thought. “Silver’s not really allowed in our household--Fubuki’s allergic. Would gold work?” 

“Look, I don’t think throwing knives is a great thing for any child,” Rococo interjected, looking at Aphrodi with newfound disrespect. “What about flying? Can your kids fly or transform yet?” He remembered his initial difficulty with the whole “turning into a bat and moving in three dimensions” thing. 

“They’re humans, Rococo. They don’t transform or fly.” Endou clarified. “You’ve lived with me for this long and you still don’t know that?”

“You sure transform in bed,” muttered Rococo in annoyance. Aphrodi was just going to pretend he didn’t hear that. Kazemaru picked that moment to walk over to join them, as by then all the kids had fallen asleep. Settling down with a sigh next to them, he dropped a plastic bag full of snacks in the middle of the group.

“Here, I brought over the leftovers for us to eat. Or more like for Endou to eat. The rest of us don’t really need to.” 

“Hey I like to eat,” Aphrodi complained. Sure he didn’t really need sustenance, but MSG tasted good. Kazemaru probably lived off seawater or something, and Rococo obviously only ate blood. 

“Oh, thanks Kazemaru!” Endou eagerly reached in and pulled out a sandwich in a plastic bag for himself, then handed out food to everyone but Rococo regardless before starting to eat. The handmade sandwich wasn’t bad, but Aphrodi missed Fubuki’s cooking. The werewolf was back at work now and chugging through an intense sales season. All of the cooking now fell onto Aphrodi’s wings, so the food was a bit...stagnant.

Noticing Rococo shifting to avoid the sun’s changing position, Aphrodi extended his wings and held them over the group to provide some shade. Rococo glanced over and gave him a grateful nod in thanks. The two had met a while back, maybe about three centuries ago as wild bachelors. Both had started chasing after their future husbands at the same modern time. After quite a few drunken, crying nights together, an unbreakable bond had formed between the two. Which meant sharing quite a few secrets between themselves that were NOT to be told to their significant other. 

“No luck in hiring another teacher yet?” Rococo asked the harried preschool teacher. This had been a problem for a while now, ever since the last one quit after suffering some demonfire burns. 

“Unfortunately no, and it’s not like wind sirens get along with each other, which is probably why none have applied.” Kazemaru replied sadly. Wind sirens were territorial, and although he was willing to set aside any airspace differences for someone who would help, no one was willing to give him the chance. 

“Luckily the class is smaller this year, and Yukimura and Kishibe are a big help. They set a good example for the rest of the kids on how to behave.” Kazemaru glanced in acknowledgement at Aphrodi, who puffed up his wings with pride. Of _course_ his boys were the best. Chatter moved on to other topics, such as needling Kazemaru on his nonexistent love life (“ _I have enough children to deal with as it is!”_ ) and recent unusual events (“ _That aurora was not normal, I swear it was dragon activity.”_ ) Time passed all too quickly until the wind alerted Kazemaru of the first child waking up, and caused them all to pack up the trash and move back to the nap area. 

Endou walked ahead to continue chatting with Kazemaru while Rococo picked himself up off the ground, re-adjusting his sunhat as Aphrodi pulled his wings back in. Trailing along behind the other two, Rococo thought over some of the things he knew about humans.

“Y’know, Aphrodi, are you sure your kids are fully human? Maybe they’ll be able to transform later in life.” Aphrodi looked over in surprise. Rococo did have a point, their only knowledge of the kid’s species was from the paperwork. Kidou and Dr. Tsunami’s checkups completely slipped his mind.

“Hmmm I guess, but they’re a bit old to start showing any special physical traits,” Aphrodi pondered.

“Well I think it still might be good for you to start giving them some air experience. Like tossing them in the air or something. The first time I learned how to transform was after I fell off a cliff. Like a do-or-die sort of thing.” Rococo reminisced. When he had first become a vampire, it was quite the uphill battle to learn how to live while avoiding the sun. It was more convenient nowadays, what with everything being online. In the past, it was like living on a perpetual night shift when nothing was open. 24-hour stores were his favorite modern invention.

“You’re right, it’ll also be good for them to overcome any fear of heights, in case I have to carry them around while flying. ” Aphrodi agreed. Entering the boundary, he went over to check over the two boys. Not even a bug bite on them--his kids really were little angels. The same couldn’t be said for poor Tsurugi, who seemed to have been eaten alive. Demon blood was apparently extremely delicious to mosquitos (now demonic mosquitos). 

Grasping a content Kishibe firmly around his little waist, Aphrodi decided to give his previous discussion with Rococo a try. Yukimura watched as his Papa lifted Kishibe up and down a few times, then threw him into the air. 

“WHEEEE!!” Kishibe screamed in delight as he flew up into the air and then back down into Aphrodi’s waiting arms. Yukimura rushed forward, wanting a part in this, too. 

“Alright, up you go!” Excited that this was working, Aphrodi alternated between the two with increasing frequency. Blinded to what was around him, he was in the middle of hoisting up Yukimura with one hand while Kishibe was still in the air when he was interrupted by a shocked cry.

“Aphrodi! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Kazemaru ran over, having finally noticed the situation. Distracted, Aphrodi lost his grip on a wriggling Yukimura and dropped him back onto the ground. The only problem was, Kishibe was also plummeting towards the ground with nothing to catch him. Kazemaru lunged forward and sent out a hard gust of wind, roughly cushioning the fall of the two children and gently setting them down on the picnic blanket.

“Aphrodi.” Kazemaru panted from exhaustion. “Explain.”

Feeling like he was being faced with someone capable of being as angry as Fubuki had been when he discovered he’d bought yet another pair of expensive black silk pants, Aphrodi cowered. 

“I was just...trying to get them used to flying.”

“Humans. Do. Not! Fly!” Kazemaru spat out the last few words as he checked over the kids. Rococo was nowhere to be found, clearly having realized the error in his ways and decided to make himself extremely scarce. Aphrodi had no one to put the blame on except himself. Wings drooping, he nodded mutely.

“Good thing the kids are alright. Well, I think it’s been a long enough day, and it’s time for us to pack up and head home.” With an angry huff, Kazemaru marched off with a kid in each hand. Aphrodi had a feeling of impending doom, realizing the implications of his husband finding out about this slight mishap. He was going to have to have a talk with the kids before tonight. Scratching the base of one of his wings, he went over to help pack up and walk all the kids back to the preschool.

\---

Fubuki was excited to come home and see the kids after a long day at work. Today was Picnic Day for the kids and he was looking forward to hearing about how it had gone, especially since Aphrodi had gone along to help. Unlocking the front door, he heard giggling and laughter throughout the penthouse. Always a good sign. 

“I’m home!” He called out, taking off his shoes at the front entrance. Two purple-haired blurs came over to greet him, hugging onto his legs and making it hard for him to finish taking off his suit jacket.

“How was Picnic Day?” He asked, squatting down to give each of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“It was great, they had a good time and behaved very well.” Fubuki looked up at the speaker who was wearing a red checkered apron. Aphrodi was holding a spatula in one hand, having come over mid-meal prep to greet his husband. 

“It was fun!” Kishibe shrieked in excitement. “We got to play with flags!” 

“Capture the Flag,” Aphrodi clarified.

“We watched flowers grow, then PICKED them!” Yukimura held up a wilted flower chain that he had been carefully saving to show Fubuki.

“A wood nymph child grew them on the spot.” Another useful clarification.

“And-!” the two kids were talking over each other, but matched up for this final sentence. “Papa threw us in the air so we could fly!” 

Aphrodi dropped his spatula, scrambling to pick it up and briskly walked back to the kitchen. 

“APHRODI!” Fubuki’s angry cry came from the doorway as he hurriedly finished flipping the eggs. Apparently bribery with ice cream wasn’t enough for the kids. He just _knew_ he was sleeping on the balcony tonight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wood nymph Kirino!
> 
> Satyr-angel Tenma.


	6. first errand - bakery!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For context, "first errand" is a popular activity in Asian countries where a young child is sent out on their first ever task alone. This was popularized through a Japanese TV show that follows these children and sees how they solve problems and challenges on their own. If you look it up, it'll give you some idea - usually simple tasks like shopping or delivering a package to a family friend.

Waking up to the early morning light, Kishibe and Yukimura sleepily got out of their matching beds in the large, now converted children’s room, which had previously been a storage room. The first few nights at the penthouse had been spent in Papa’s bed, snuggled between their parents, but after the new furniture had arrived, they had been relocated to their own room. Reflecting his lavish taste, Aphrodi had gotten two large canopy beds with twinkling gold-flecked star curtains that extended up to the ceiling. The room itself was star and snow themed, with a large snowflake rug in the middle and plenty of star-shaped pillows to lie on. The far side of the room contained a walk-in closet that was already stuffed full of clothes for them: two sets of each outfit so they could match. Walking past the walls (which had been decorated with large glowing star and snowflake stickers) Yukimura reached up, pulling open the door to see Daddy already sitting at the dining table. 

“Good morning!” Fubuki turned and smiled at the two, getting out of the chair to herd them to the bathroom so they could freshen up for the day. “Did you both have good dreams?” 

“Yeah!” Kishibe began trying to describe his crazy dream of flying soccer balls to Fubuki as they walked over to the bathroom. While that conversation was going on, Yukimura looked around, realizing that Papa was nowhere to be seen…

“Where’s Papa?” Yukimura eventually asked, as they ate breakfast at the table. Pancakes in fact, and Fubuki had taken the time to draw them as animal faces, to the delight of the kids. 

“Papa is out shopping today,” Fubuki casually replied, choosing his words carefully. Once finished, he rose from his chair and began to tidy up the counter, letting out a dramatic gasp that drew the attention of the two children. Reaching into the quintessential plastic bag that housed more plastic bags, he pulled out a familiar red slim wallet. 

“Papa forgot his wallet!” 

Yukimura and Kishibe gasped in response. _Papa with no money! How was he going to shop!? Papa LOVED shopping._

“Hm...Daddy is too busy with chores to go out today….” Fubuki trailed off, tapping his chin as he tried to think of a ‘solution’. “But Kishibe, Yukimura, you two aren’t busy. Would you be able to take this wallet to Papa?” 

_Take the wallet to Papa! Alone?!_ The two of them exchanged glances, then almost leapt out of their chairs with eagerness. 

“Yes! I’m a big boy now! I can go!” Kishibe excitedly tried to grab the wallet that Fubuki was holding.

“Me too! I’ll go!” Breakfast forgotten, the two of them clamored for Fubuki’s help to get dressed and leave. Fubuki carefully dressed them for the ensuing excursion, especially since it was a rather sunny day. Sturdy striped t-shirts, a _yellow_ bucket hat this time, knee-length yellow shorts, and navy blue boots. Once they were both ready, Fubuki handed over two very important things.

“Kishibe, I’m putting Papa’s wallet in this bag, OK?” Fubuki carefully put Aphrodi’s Prada wallet into a blue cloth crossbody bag that he looped over the boy’s head. “You have to take very good care of it, alright?”

Kishibe nodded in understanding, his face a mask of seriousness. 

“Yukimura, here’s your wallet with spending money for your errands. You have to watch out for your brother, OK?” Fubuki looped a similar red crossbody bag over his head, patting it gently. Yukimura puffed out his chest, taking his protection assignment very seriously. 

“Now listen carefully. First, I want you to go to Penguin Bakery and buy 4 vanilla cream puffs. Remember, _vanilla_ cream puffs.” The two kids listened intently, recognizing this as the bakery they went to often with Fubuki, and was already a familiar route. Only a 10 minute walk from the penthouse, it was a perfectly safe location to send the kids.

“Next, I want you to take the cream puffs and then go to ALIEA.” This was a boutique that Aphrodi frequented, often bringing the kids with him when he went shopping. The two were familiar with this store as well, and it was another 10 minute walk from the bakery. “Papa is waiting there, and he needs his wallet to finish his shopping. It’s very important!” 

Yukimura and Kishibe nodded in solemn understanding. They knew what would happen if Papa didn’t get to finish his shopping. Fubuki made them repeat the instructions back a few times, then nodded in satisfaction.

“Daddy is going to stay here and finish the chores,” he stood up, walking them over to the front door. “I’m counting on you!” Encouraging them along as they pressed the elevator button, he had to actively stop himself from fussing over them. Soundless doors sliding open, the two kids piled into the elevator and Yukimura reached up and pressed the star button. 

“Bye bye! Be safe, okay? ” Fubuki called out to them as the elevator doors closed.

“We will! Bye Daddy!!” His children’s echoes came through the door as they shut, the elevator now moving down through the floors. He stood there for a brief moment, watching the numbers drop through the elevator screen until they reached the ground floor before pressing the call button again. Grabbing a jacket and putting on his boots, he quickly locked the door behind him and followed the kids footsteps on their first journey alone.

\---

“Which way….” Yukimura and Kishibe were holding hands and standing outside the large glass doors of the building lobby. Both looked around, trying very hard to remember whether to go left or right. 

“Oh!” Kishibe exclaimed, suddenly remembering last week when they had gone to buy bread. It had been raining that day, and Daddy had walked them under the nearby shop awnings to avoid the rain and the awning had been….

“Pink!” Kishibe pointed at the flower shop that was to the right of the complex. “This way, Yukimura!” Dragging his brother’s hand, the two of them started walking along the sidewalk towards the flower shop. Cars drove alongside them and Yukimura pulled Kishibe close so he wouldn’t wander into the street. 

“I’ll walk on the outside.” Yukimura ordered Kishibe. “The cars are dangerous.” Kishibe nodded in understanding, swinging their clasped hands along as they walked. Despite that, he couldn’t help but brighten. _Our first time out alone! This was so exciting!_

Caught up in the moment, the two of them continued marching down the street with determination until they reached a crosswalk. Without hesitation, Yukimura got up on his toes, pushed the crossing signal button, then waited at the curb with Kishibe. Fubuki watched at a distance, concerned. They were supposed to turn here...but they had pushed the crosswalk light to continue forward. 

The light flickered green and the two of them raised their hands to cross the street together. Early morning shoppers were also out and about, flashing a smile and recognizing that this was probably their first errand alone. After making their way across, they continued onward until they reached another crosswalk. ...Now this was confusing. Usually they only went through one crosswalk, the rest were small side roads that only required looking both ways. Fubuki, who was following at a distance, was close to tearing his fur out, unsure of how he was going to herd them back in the right direction without fully ruining this experience.

The two children hesitated now, feeling that _something_ was off with their route. Glancing around, Kishibe didn’t recognize any of these stores, and was starting to feel scared. Yukimura was trying to spot the familiar penguin logo of Penguin Bakery when he suddenly saw it on a passerby’s bag.

“Kishibe!” Running forward while dragging his brother behind him, he ran over to the bag and grabbed it. “Here!” 

“Wha-!” The owner of the bag (full of banana bread) felt that tug, looking down in confusion at the two children that were suddenly circling him. The two kids seemed to have realized their mistake, as they looked up only to see a scary-looking stranger staring back. The man loomed over them, curly brown hair tied back into a bursting low ponytail, one short black horn sticking out from one side of his forehead, and a pointy black tail sticking straight up in the air from surprise. 

The kids immediately burst into tears. 

“Wait, where are your parents?!” Glancing around in panic, he couldn’t spot where the kid’s parents could be. “Oh no-” And now he was starting to attract attention from passersby. A half demon with two crying children at his feet was NOT a good look. 

“Oh no. Don’t cry!,” He muttered, kneeling next to them and putting his bag down. Pulling out the banana bread he had just bought, he separated out a slice and broke it in half. “Here, have some banana bread. It’s nice and sweet.” He was hoping this would at least calm them down enough to talk to him. Each one took a half and started munching on it, their crying reduced to silent tears and hiccups. 

“Now, where are your parents?” he asked again. Glancing around, he spotted someone in a grey jacket watching with concern from a distance. Trying to give off the aura of [I swear I’m not kidnapping children], he looked back down to see that they had almost finished their bread. 

“Penguin Bakery.” Kishibe pointed at the logo on his bag. 

“Is that where you need to go?” He pulled the bag taut and showed it to them. The two kids nodded in response. 

“Do you know how to get there?” 

The two kids hesitated, then shook their heads. 

_What irresponsible parents._

“OK, well. From here you need to cross the street.” He pointed the way they just came. “And after you cross the street, you have to take a left, OK?” He pointed to the left, trying to make sure they understood the directions. The two kids nodded furiously. 

“Alright, you two got it?” More nods in response. 

“OK, good luck!” 

The two of them headed down the street, back towards where the crosswalk was before Yukimura suddenly remembered something. Dragging Kishibe back with him, he called back to the kind stranger.

“Big bro! Thank you!” The half-demon blinked in surprise at being addressed like this. 

“My name is Fudou!” He called back. The two kids waved happily at him, then continued walking back to wait at the crosswalk. Pausing at a nearby streetlamp, he watched them from a distance as they successfully crossed the road then took a right.

“Oh _fuck_ no.” Fudou ran over to the crosswalk and impatiently waited for the light to change, watching as the kids forged their way down the wrong street again. Running across as soon as the light changed, he quickly caught up, slowing down to a brisk stroll to cut them off. 

“Fubro!” Kishibe was happy to see their new friend again. 

“Kids, you took a right.” He pointed behind them, ignoring the bastardization of his name. “You were supposed to go left.” 

“Oh…” Kishibe’s brows scrunched up in concern. “OK.” He then pushed past Fudou to continue down the road.

“Wait, did you not just hear-ah!” Fudou twitched in surprise as something grabbed his precious, leathery tail. Turning around, he saw Yukimura had firmly grasped it in his little hand. 

“Wow….” Yukimura’s eyes were practically stars as he stared at the twitching tail. Tsurugi had one, but the little demon never let him touch it. Now he finally knew what one felt like.

Fudou took a deep breath, suddenly getting an idea. Looking down, he realized that Yukimura was holding onto him, and Kishibe was holding onto Yukimura. 

“What’s your name?” He asked the tail-snatcher, who was still focused on his appendage. After a bit of prodding with the tail’s tip the boy finally answered.

“Yukimura!” 

“Good, and yours?” Fudou pointed at Kishibe, who eagerly responded while raising his hand in the air.

“Kishibe!”

“Great. Yukimura, Kishibe, follow me.” Slowly walking down the street back towards the bakery, they looked like a strange group. Especially from Fubuki’s distance, who wasn’t sure whether to be grateful that a stranger was guiding them, or mortified that his children were so easily going along with a stranger. Like a mother goose with two goslings, they made their way down the street single file. 

Soon, they reached the bakery and, matching its namesake, saw some penguins wandering around outside. While strange to the uninformed, this was a familiar occurence to any regular customers. The penguins were all red today, an unusual color as they were normally all varying colors of the rainbow. Squealing, Kishibe and Yukimura let go of their hand holding to try and hug the nearest penguin. Unfortunately, they passed right through them (as they existed only as spirits) but the penguin squawked at them indignantly anyway before flapping its wings to fly off into the air.

“We’re here!” Kishibe yelled in excitement.

“Penguin bakery!” Came Yukimura’s shout of happiness. _We finally made it!_

“Good good, now go inside,” Fudou cautiously instructed them. He was afraid that he’d leave, only to see them chasing after a penguin, disappear around the corner, and never come back.

“Thank you Fubro!” The children called out to him as they pushed open the heavy wooden door, heading into the warm and inviting bakery. He gave a quick wave from outside, then narrowly avoided a spirit penguin peck on his buttock. Sure it wouldn’t hurt him physically, but it hurt his feelings.

“Tch.” If it wasn’t for how good the banana bread was here, he’d never come to this bakery. Other bakeries sure didn’t have ornery spirit penguins that tried to attack him whenever he came close. All because he had thrown a banana peel at the owner’s stupid lion boyfriend a few weeks ago didn’t mean they had to hold a grudge. 

With a turn of his heel, he headed back down the street, only to cross paths with the concerned man who had been watching the situation earlier. Teal eyes met with his and gave him a grateful nod before going to hover outside the bakery. Fudou stared for a bit longer, then shrugged and continued on his way. Maybe he hadn’t had to guide the kids along after all. Damn his soft spot for children.

\---

Door chimes jingled as the kids pushed their way into the bakery. Sakuma looked up from where he had been organizing the counter to see two familiar children approaching the register.

“Hello you two!” Sakuma smiled down at them, and the penguins outside immediately changed colors to blue and yellow as a result. Colors of happiness. The presence of these cute children alone could chase away his sour mood from Fudou’s earlier visit--one which ended with one loaf of banana bread bought and some backhanded insults. 

Gazing up at the friendly eyepatched baker, the kids remembered what they had came here for. 

“Cream puffs!” Kishibe called up, the top of his yellow hat barely peeking over the counter. 

“Cream puffs? What flavor?” Rolling up his sleeves, he picked up a pair of tongs and went to the dessert case where he opened the backdoor. 

“Vanilla!” Yukimura had pressed himself up against the glass case to peek inside. He also wanted cake, but that wasn’t what he was supposed to get. He’d be a good boy and just get cream puffs.

“How many?” Sakuma started putting them in a box, already guessing what the number was but wanting to check just in case.

“Four!” The kids shouted in unison. Smiling at their excitement, he finished packing the cream puffs, then went to the register to ring them up.

“Did you two come here alone today?” Punching in the numbers almost by instinct, Sakuma realized that neither Fubuki nor Aphrodi were close by. 

“Yes! We’re big boys now! We’re going to give Papa his wallet.” Kishibe eagerly pulled out the red wallet to show Sakuma, who immediately recognized it as Aphrodi’s. 

“Did he forget it at home? Wow, you two are such helpful boys! And where is Papa at?” 

“ALIEA….” Yukimura realized that they still had a while to go. He had wanted to eat the cream puff now.

“That’s really close! Right down the street. Now, that’s going to be $8.” Kishibe, who was still holding Aphrodi’s wallet, realized that wallet = money and handed it in its entirety to a surprised Sakuma. Opening it up, he fished through several credit cards and boutique point cards to find a crumpled $10 bill in the middle fold. Quickly making the transaction, he first handed the kids the box of cream puffs.

“Be careful,” he warned them as four little hands reached for the box. Ensuring that it was properly supported, he started to stuff the change back into the wallet when the door chimes jingled again. Looking up, the kids had already bolted out the door. 

“Wait! Oh no...” Aphrodi’s wallet was still in his hands; the kids had completely forgotten about it and were already hurrying off. The penguins outside had now turned into a shade of light green (massive stress) and were trying to impede them. Treating this as a game, the kids broke into a run, giggling as they outran the penguin’s spirit radius. It’s times like this he cursed the stupid penguin demon that possessed his one eye-- it was seriously useless other than making his emotions an open book for any passerby. 

“Genda!” He shouted into the back, causing a tousled brown-haired man in a bakery apron to pop his head around the racks of bread. Two stripes of tanned skin ran from his green eyes down to the sides of his chin, nicely framing his features. 

“Yeah?” 

“Watch the shop for a moment, OK? Some kids who were just here left behind their wallet, so I’m going to run after them to return it.”

“Oh, sure.” Moving from where he had been shaping the dough, Genda quickly took over register duties, only for the door chime to jingle again.

“Ahh not now!” Sakuma hissed as he spun around towards the newcomer, penguins turning into a dark shade of red. Upon seeing who it was, they reverted back to a mellow yellow. 

“Fubuki!” 

“Hello,” Fubuki gave him a sheepish smile in return. “I see they got the cream puffs, but left behind something rather important.” 

“I was wondering if you were following them,” Sakuma laughed as he handed over the wallet. “You came just as I was going to run after them! I even called out Genda to hold the fort.” Gesturing at the man standing next to him, Genda’s eyes met with Fubuki’s, before widening in recognition.

“You!” Fubuki’s ears and tail popped out in surprise. “At the zoo!” 

“So those WERE the same kids I smelled!” Genda’s lion ears and tail popped out as well, and he immediately tried to smush them back in with his hands.

“Zoo? You guys met at the zoo?” Sakuma asked, puzzled. “I picked him up near the penguin exhibit after he got caught and kicked out of the lion exhibit. How long ago was this?” 

“A few months back….” Fubuki laughed upon this realization. “Well, thank you!! Kishibe still sleeps with that hat. He’s so happy he got it back, and _always_ talks about the big, brave lion that helped him. I’m sure he’d be ecstatic to know his idol is working at his favorite bakery now.” 

“Oh,” Genda blushed at this reveal. “I’m glad. A lot of kids lose stuff, so I try to throw it back up to them. I guess that’s how they caught me. I was too smart.” Genda huffed at the end, remembering when he was rudely thrown out of the compound. 

“Thank you again,” Fubuki held up the wallet and smiled. “I’ll be running along now to go return this to my own children.” 

“Good luck! Let us know how it goes,” Sakuma called as Fubuki hurried out the front door to make a beeline for the boutique. Being a father seemed like hard work. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A first errand pic I drew a while back, before writing this fic so it's not totally accurate but good enough! If Aphrodi was the one following them he'd just fly at a distance the whole time while biting his nails.


	7. first errand - boutique!!!

Walking down the street with the bakery box tightly clasped in their hands, Yukimura and Kishibe felt very proud that they had gotten cream puffs all on their own. The boutique was only a little farther up ahead, and soon they’d be able to see Papa and give him his wallet! 

\---

Aphrodi was seated inside the boutique, stressed out of his mind. Black and white striped walls loomed all around him and flecks of light bounced off of the crystal chandelier above to dance along the racks of clothing. 

“It’s been 2 hours since they left the house,” he whispered to the two shop clerks that had been watching him fret all morning. “I wonder if they’re OK. Fubuki hasn’t texted me in half an hour. Maybe I should go stand outside.”

“Aphrodi, that would defeat the purpose,” Red hair blossomed around his face to form a nice tulip bulb up top, Burn leaned on the nearby jewelry display to stretch out his side. 

“Go stand outside so I won’t have to hear you talk anymore.” Added Gazel, the other employee, who always looked like he blow dried his white hair in one direction only. Something Aphrodi found quite impressive, to be honest. He’d asked once, but Gazel had just glared at him, saying it was “wind spirit secrets”. Could explain why Burn had hair so perfectly shaped into a red tulip but was a fire spirit. Maybe it was supposed to be a flame but fell short. 

“Gazel, don’t talk to a customer like that.” Ulvida came out from the back, where she had been checking inventory for the day. The main piece designer, she had dropped in today to show Aphrodi upcoming selections, as he was one of the biggest patrons of the boutique. Reaching into a nearby wormhole that she summoned, she pulled out some new designs from her workshop. Aphrodi had questioned her powers once, having never heard of a “celestial spirit” before. Despite such power, she had no plans for world domination, and, as practical as she is, just found wormholes quite convenient in cleaning up dust around the shop and moving inventory around. Also, apparently wormhole overuse gave her bad nightmares about actual worms. 

“Here you go Aphrodi, sorry I took so long in the back.” Unzipping the garment bag, she pulled out a shimmering long dress that had billowing, white sheer sleeves and a golden star-patterned neckline. Aphrodi gasped in appreciation as he trailed his eyes down to the multiple soft layers of sparkling tulle, heavily embroidered with gold and silver stars and constellations along the bottom half. 

“Ohhh!! I love it~. Can I try it on?” Aphrodi already knew he’d buy it if it fit him right. Where the waistline of the dress hit was such a problem sometimes. 

“Of course,” Ulvida went to the changing room and drew aside the black velvet curtain. Hanging the dress up on the nearby hook, she unbuttoned the back and stepped aside for Aphrodi. 

“Oh, thank you!” 

Gazel complained as soon as Aphrodi slipped inside the curtains. “He wouldn’t stop showing me pictures of his kids for TWO HOURS. I don’t know _how_ he has that much phone storage.”

“I clean out my storage regularly!” came Aphrodi’s muffled voice from through the curtains, followed quickly by some rustling and a sharp yelp of pain. “Ow!” His long hair must have caught on one of the back buttons. Scalp smarting from where his hair had been pulled, Aphrodi poked his head out from between the curtains to call for help to button up his lower back.

“Too bad my wings get in the way,” he complained, as Burn helped button up to the base of his wings. Aphrodi clasped the golden collar himself, then swept his hair back to admire his reflection in the mirror. ALIEA was always one of his favorite boutiques, because of how unique the designs were. The staff may operate under aliases, but Aphrodi didn’t mind. It added to the mystery and wonder. 

“I look amazing,” he crooned, twirling in place and watching the tulle layers rise up, then gently settle down around his ankles. The gold star touches were lovely and accented well with his pale skin and stark, white wings. This was _definitely_ a piece he needed to own. He’d wear this to go get some nice fried chicken anytime. This was a statement piece.

“I knew it would look great on you.” Ulvida said cooly, coming over to check a few seams. “And look.” She slipped her hand between the fabric by Aphrodi’s hip. “It’s got pockets.”

“Oh I am SO buying this,” Aphrodi continued admiring himself in the mirror before moving over to discuss alterations with Ulvida. For example, addition of some button straps that would close the gap between the base of his wings. Gazel was the first one to notice movement outside, two purple blobs of movement to be exact. Detaching himself from the clothing rack where he had been rearranging dresses by series, he went over to open the door. 

“Papa!!!!!” came Kishibe and Yukimura’s yells for their precious Papa’s attention as they tumbled through the open door. Aphrodi whirled around from the counter to see his two children holding a box from Penguin Bakery, beaming up at him. 

“Yukimura! Kishibe!” He knelt down and hugged them. Unbeknownst to him, the two boys could have sworn Papa looked like a goddess today, wearing that dress. 

“We brought you cream puffs!” 

“So you did!” Aphrodi let go of the two and smiled at them with pride. Opening the box carefully, he saw the cream puffs had all been smushed into one corner. Centrifugal force was a bitch.

“These are perfect,” he gushed to the kids, despite that. Their Papa’s approval for their flawless delivery only made them brighten more. At that moment, Kishibe suddenly remembered what else he was supposed to give Papa, and reached into his bag only to find...nothing. Freezing up in surprise, he discreetly checked again, turning around in confusion once he was positive. Papa’s wallet was nowhere to be found. 

“Kishibe?” Aphrodi noticed his child turning around to open up his crossbody bag. “Is something wrong?” At this question, Kishibe suddenly realized everything was very, very wrong and burst out into tears. 

“I don’t have…!” Kishibe could barely talk through his sobs. Yukimura came up to his brother, concerned. Unsure of what to do, he tugged on Kishibe’s bag and realized that it was much lighter than before they left the house.

“Papa…Papa’s wallet!” Yukimura stared in shock at the empty bag. 

“Oh no, my wallet?” Aphrodi moved over to look. Thankfully, he had planned this out with Fubuki a few days before, and seeing the empty blue crossbody bag told him everything he needed to know. “Aw it’s OK Kishibe, let’s walk back the way you came and check! Does that sound okay?” 

Distraught, Kishibe could only cry into his Papa’s arms. Aphrodi looked up apologetically at Ulvida, as he hadn’t even bought the dress yet. She gave him a wave of the hand. He spent enough time here that she knew he’d buy it regardless. 

“Hey now, here.” Burn came over with some candy from the back drawer. “Your Papa will go look for it with you, so cheer up and have some candy!” Aphrodi cast him a grateful glance as he bounced Kishibe on his knee. Burn handed the candies to Yukimura first, as he wasn’t busy sobbing into his guardian, and told him to share one with his brother. With the two of them sucking sadly on the hard candy, Aphrodi wondered what might’ve happened. Fubuki should’ve been following behind them, so his wallet should still be nearby, but.... 

His train of thought was cut off as a very large (and very familiar) wolf trotted by the front door and dropped a distinct red wallet on the ground outside. Yukimura and Kishibe were still sulking into his chest so they hadn’t seen it. Perfect timing.

“Kishibe, Yukimura,” catching their attention with a kiss on each of their foreheads, he pulled back from them and smiled. “It can’t be too far! What if we checked right now? Do you want to show me how you came in?” The two of them glanced at each other. Kishibe was still rubbing his eyes and hiccuping, unable to decide one way or another. Yukimura, being the more decisive one, turned around and went to the large glass doors. It was a bit of a struggle, but he slowly pulled one of them open before slipping out and seeing the familiar wallet on the ground. Kishibe had snuggled back into his Papa’s arms, still distraught, but peeled off just enough to take a look when he heard Yukimura’s voice. 

“Papa!!” Yukimura shouted from the other side of the glass doors, waving the bright red wallet in his hand. “Papa, it’s right here!”

“Oh, look Kishibe! You just dropped it outside!” Standing up and holding Kishibe’s hand, he pulled open the door and held it as Yukimura rushed inside, cradling the wallet in his hands. 

“Thank you so much, you two!” Aphrodi knelt down and took the wallet, giving each boy a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Settling them on the black ottoman in the middle of the boutique, the two munched contently on their squished cream puffs while Aphrodi paid for the dress. 

“Are you going to wear it out?” Ulvida asked as she finished processing the transaction. Aphrodi’s previous clothes were still discarded in the changing room. 

“No, since you still have to make some modifications to it. I’ll change out right now.” Leaving his wallet with Ulvida, he disappeared back into the changing room, only to poke his head out and ask an annoyed Gazel to help him with the back buttons. 

“I don’t know how Fubuki deals with you.” Gazel muttered as he carefully undid the shank buttons down the needy customer’s back.

“With love,” Aphrodi dreamily replied, earning himself a particularly hard yank near the base of his wings. “Ow! Rude.” 

“Gazel.” Ulvida’s warning tone was audible, and caused him to behave after that, but not without giving Aphrodi a disapproving glare. 

Kishibe had finished up his cream puff by this point, and pushed himself off of the ottoman. Wandering around the shop, he suddenly spotted the seemingly abandoned wallet on the counter. Marching over, he reached to take it off of the counter, then shoved his way through the black velvet curtains. Right into the changing room where Aphrodi was currently trying to put his pants back on.

“Papa!” Kishibe shouted as he burst through the curtains, shoving the wallet into his thigh, just narrowly missing his crotch. “You forgot your wallet!” Aphrodi could faintly hear Burn’s burst of laughter in the background. Doubling over slightly from the impact, Aphrodi had to grab onto the nearby step stool to keep himself upright as his wings splayed out around him. 

“Thank you, love,” Aphrodi wheezed as he righted himself and took the wallet. Petting Kishibe’s fluffy head, he guided him out through the curtain.

“Wait outside for Papa, okay??”

“OK!” 

Aphrodi closed the curtains again, noting that Yukimura was still contently eating the last bits of his cream puff on the ottoman. Pulling his shirt back on, he tied the silk ends behind him under his wings and stepped into his pants. Today’s outfit was a red silk shirt and black high waisted pants, an ensemble that reminded him of a certain ostentatious dragon from the zoo. Pulling out the gold necklace that had fallen underneath his shirt and patting it down on his collar, he slipped some red heels back on and grabbed his wallet before exiting.

“Papa’s done now!” Aphrodi greeted his kids with a smile. “Are we ready to go home?” Kishibe had joined Yukimura on the ottoman, both waiting for their Papa to finish.

“Yeah!” Taking one small hand from each child in his hands, Aphrodi turned around to say goodbye to the staff. 

“Thank you guys!” 

“Leave.” Gazel made a shooing motion with his hand.

“See you next time!” Burn shouted over from the back, top of his tulip hair peeking out from where he had been arranging some shoe inventory.

“Anytime, and I’ll have the dress sent over to your place after the modifications are made.” Ulvida smiled and held the door open for the happy family as they left. Before leaving, Aphrodi had asked Burn for a bag to put the Penguin Bakery box as well as his wallet into. Hitching it over his shoulder, he led the children out the door. The two kids turned and eagerly waved goodbye with their free hands as they followed. Watching the distinct black and white bag swing as they left, Ulvida smiled to herself. Kids were cute, but such a handful.

\---

Fubuki had loped back home to change after dropping off the wallet in front of ALIEA. Good thing he always carried a plastic bag on him to hold his clothes, and that the doorman recognized his wolf form enough to help him press the elevator button. Dropping his bag next to the door, he nosed through his belongings before finally fishing out door keys. Quickly transforming, he unlocked the door and slipped in, dragging all his belongings with him. He had to go put some clothes on before someone caught him naked trying to jangle a door handle. Even if his family was the only one that lived on this floor, it was still a fear in the back of his mind. 

Having finished changing, he settled down on the couch, pulling out his phone to send a few texts to Aphrodi. No reply, but he saw that the texts were read. Aphrodi’s hands were probably physically full right now, so he couldn’t respond right away, but he could rest easy with the kids now in his husband's care. Closing his eyes, he lightly dozed off as he waited for the other three members of the family to come home.

The soft ping of the elevator woke him up immediately. His wolf ears had appeared while he slept, a subconscious indicator that he was on high alert for his family. Twitching one, he got up and went to the doorway to wait for them. He could already hear the conversation on the other side of the door, mostly Aphrodi trying to get the children to stand still while he fetched his keys out. 

“Daddy!” Yukimura was the first one to run in through the slightly ajar door. Jumping into Fubuki’s arms, he grinned up at him. “We’re back!”

“We’re back!!” Kishibe echoed as he grabbed onto Fubuki’s leg. “We’re back with Papa!”

“That’s great!” Fubuki knelt down and checked them over for any strange scents or scratches. Half demon scent...spirit scent...bakery scent. Nothing out of the ordinary from when he had been following them. “Did you give Papa his wallet?”

“Yeah!” Kishibe proudly yelled.

“But we lost it.”’

“But we found it again!” 

The two of them began trying to regale Fubuki about their adventure, something along the lines of a “Fubro” and “penguins!” and “sparkly dress.” 

“That’s amazing, you two! Let’s take your shoes off and eat some cream puffs while you tell me all about it, okay?” Fubuki had begun helping them unlace their shoes when he suddenly realized they had gone quiet. Aphrodi was staring down at him with an odd look on his face.

“Is something the matter?”

“Daddy…” Kishibe was starting to tear up again.

“We already ate our cream puffs!” Yukimura finished.

Fubuki laughed at this realization as Aphrodi knelt down to console them. Between the children's sobs, their parents let them know that there were still two more, and they were going to magnanimously let them eat those as well. After more consolation, the remaining two cream puffs were split in half and the family settled in at the coffee table to eat. And so, two indulging parents listened to their children tell them all about their very first trip alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dress he tried on.


	8. valentine's <3 day

A few months had passed since the boys had run their first errand and the family had mostly settled into routines by now. Fubuki was carefully sifting through the contents of the kid’s weekly folders when he pulled out a neon pink sheet of paper.

 _Funny, this doesn’t look like homework…_ Printed in italic text with copious amounts of hearts, the vibrant paper proclaimed the arrival of a very important holiday: Valentine’s Day.

Ignoring the laughter coming from the playroom, where Aphrodi was currently playing with the kids in their new cardboard castle, he read through the contents. According to the paper, there was to be a Valentine’s Day party and card exchange. Each child was to bring cards for all other children and a small gift. Some gift suggestions were printed in smaller text on the side, with emphasis that gifts should be under $5 per child. Fubuki felt relief upon reading that, knowing that Aphrodi would have probably gone out to just buy each child a diamond necklace and call it a day. 

Stapled to the card was a class roster with each child’s name and species, along with any food or material allergies. Certainly important for the gift buying portion. Pulling out his phone, Fubuki checked his calendar to see he only had a week until this special occasion. Usually, by this time, Aphrodi would be mooning all over him and have a whole week of events planned out. Naturally, this year would be different, as the two had their hands full with the children. He’d be impressed if either of them managed to stay up late that night to spend some quality time together in bed. Recently they’d just pass out upon hitting the sheets. 

Looking about the penthouse, he saw how much had changed in the few months since the children had been dumped in their laps. The previously pristine home was now covered in children’s drawings taped up on the walls, growth charts, toys, and books strewn everywhere. It may look messier than ever, but it warmed Fubuki’s heart to see the place so well-used. Getting up from the dining table, he grabbed the obnoxiously pink paper and walked to the playroom. 

“Boys!” 

Aphrodi was currently floating in the air, pelting pillows down at some gleefully screaming children running in circles. Fubuki stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips, a stance that was starting to become the default for him. Cowed, Aphrodi carefully landed on the floor only to be met with a pillow in the face that was thrown by Kishibe. 

“Not in front of Daddy!” Aphrodi hissed at Kishibe as the giggling child ran over to hide behind Fubuki’s leg. 

“Aphrodi. Look at this.” Fubuki hobbled over, Kishibe still latched onto his leg as he handed over the paper. The archangel quickly scanned the sheet before turning pale. 

“Oh my boss. Valentine’s day.” Aphrodi had COMPLETELY forgotten this year. The first year in _centuries_. Even when he didn’t have a lover, he would still go out to seek some fun during that day. He didn’t even have a reservation this year, and now they needed a babysitter for the kids...who could he call….

“Aphrodi, _I_ don’t want to do anything special for Valentine’s day, except maybe take a long bath.” Fubuki interrupted his thoughts. “Read the paper again. What’s important here is getting gifts and cards for all the kids in the class. And make our kids write in them.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Aphrodi already knew what gifts would make any lover blush after all his years of being on this planet. He was here BEFORE Valentine’s was even a thing. 

“It’s got to be under $5.” 

“Oh, that’s not so easy…” _No diamond necklace then, maybe a fake one?_

“We can just buy a bag of Valentine’s candy and call it a day.” Fubuki pet Yukimura’s head as the child wandered over, clutching a pillow in each hand. “We were going to go to the store today anyway, but maybe it can be a family trip now.”

“I wanna go to the store!” yelled Kishibe as he smiled up at his gentle dad. Store trips were always so fun, and Daddy always said they could each get one special toy from the gacha machines. He really liked the chocolate eggs with toys in them. He could only get them when he was with Papa though, since Daddy couldn’t eat chocolate. He also had to wash his hands and wipe his mouth after eating it in case Daddy gave him a kiss or a hug, but the toy was so worth it.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get cleaned up here and we’ll head out to the store.” Fubuki took a look around the messy room with a raised brow, only to walk back out, leaving Aphrodi alone to deal with herding the kids into singing the clean-up song.

\--

“These are so insincere,” Aphrodi sadly remarked to Fubuki while turning the bright pink paper box over in his hands.

“They’re for children.” Fubuki succinctly replied, helping Yukimura put a set that had cartoon snow leopards on it into his basket. Kishibe had chosen one with tigers. Apparently that zoo trip had been quite impressionable on his young children.

The gift they chose for their class were some sugar candies in the shape of a flower bouquet. Cheap enough in bulk, and according to the list, no child was allergic to sugar, except Shindou who could only drink blood. Shindou was to receive a small enamel pin with a floral design, accented with black ribbon. Aphrodi subtly felt that giving a vampire anything with a heart motif was adding insult to injury. 

One long trip to the store later, they were home and Aphrodi was internally weeping over how tacky children’s Valentine’s day cards were these days. They sat at the coffee table that was now covered in heart sticker sheets, Valentine’s cards, and lots of tape and color pencils. 

“OK so you just have to write one nice thing for each of your classmates.” Fubuki explained, placing the class roster in the middle of the table. “Each of your classmates' names are here, so we’ll go down the list one by one, understood?” 

The two kids nodded, excited by all the new stationary in front of them. Reaching over, Aphrodi picked up a card and observed it. The writing space wasn’t very large, but it wasn’t as if his kids really knew how to write much. 

Fubuki noticed that they seemed hesitant to start, unsure of what a Valentine’s Day card usually consisted of. 

“Let’s start with...Tenma!” Tenma’s name was at the top of the list, after all. A peppy child, and both of his kids seemed to get along well with him. “Tell me something you like about Tenma.”

“His wings!” Yukimura proclaimed, as he admired how Tenma could fly anywhere, just like Papa.

“How fast he runs!” Kishibe could never outrun Tenma, whose powerful hooved legs let him dash around and turn with pinpoint accuracy.

“That’s great, you should write that down.” Fubuki tapped the empty valentine in front of Kishibe. “You can write here: Tenma, I like how fast you run.” 

Yukimura, watching Kishibe get started on his card, quickly understood what he was supposed to do. Grabbing a blue pencil, he carefully penciled in [Tenma, I like your weens]. Aphrodi noticed the misspelling but decided to shrug it off, 5 year olds weren’t known for their great spelling skills. The two kids diligently worked through the small class roster, though some careful prompting was needed from both parents in order to keep the messages short and sweet.

“No, Yukimura, you can’t write that you like Tsurugi’s tail and you want to touch it.” Fubuki put his hand over the card that now had Tsurugi’s name written on it. “Maybe say something about how you like his powers.”

“Oh! Like when he makes little black knives appear?” Kishibe asked eagerly. 

“What?!” Aphrodi didn’t like the sound of _that_. A little demon child was fine, but one that could summon shadow swords this young was unusual. That was high level magic.

“He gave me one when I wanted to slice my bread in half!” Kishibe had wanted to share some of his bread with Yukimura since he couldn’t eat all of it. Ripping it in half had only caused him to end up with a thumbful in one hand and a fistful in the other. At that moment, Tsurugi had walked over and handed him a knife without another word. 

“It cut the bread so easy....” Too bad the knife dissolved after he used it. It was so cool.

“I’m going to have a talk with Kazemaru,” Aphrodi muttered under his breath as his kids eagerly wrote about black knives on a Valentine’s card. 

“Aw, I’m sure Kazemaru has a handle on things, he’s done this for years,” Fubuki grinned to himself, not seeing what was so bad about shadow swords. He’d grown up in the mountain woods with his werewolf pack, who each had a hand in raising him after he'd lost his family. Things had been tough for a bit, but sometimes a part of growing up was ripping apart some bears that attacked your pack in the middle of the night. At least his kids didn’t have to experience that. 

Shindou got a card about how “cool” he was, in both definitions of the word. Kirino’s card was decorated with flower drawings, and Kazemaru got a nice large card that thanked him for his time and effort. 

“Remember, Kazemaru-sensei is single, so you have to be extra nice to him on Valentine’s day.” Aphrodi instructed his children as they packed up the cards and gifts into a shoebox to transport to school. 

“What does single mean?” Yukimura asked curiously, not having heard the term before.

“It means, ‘don’t listen to Papa’.” Fubuki replied with a sly smile as he grabbed ahold of Aphrodi’s wing, giving it a hard yank. “Just be nice to Kazemaru-sensei in general, okay ?”

“OK!” The two kids eagerly agreed. They already felt like they were nice to their anxiety-ridden preschool teacher every day.

\---

Fubuki took Valentine’s day off, which may be the sappiest thing he’d ever done, but even he was starting to miss quality time with Aphrodi. His husband had been ecstatic upon hearing this, and immediately weaseled his way into a lunch reservation at their favorite Italian restaurant. Dropping the kids off at school, the two of them stood at the doors waving goodbye to their precious children, who didn’t even look back as they ran straight into the classroom.

“Breaks my heart,” Aphrodi whined as he left the preschool. “The first few weeks they’d cry and cling to me and say they wanted to go home. But now they can’t wait to leave my side. Won’t even give me a hug goodbye.” 

“Well, it shows growth,” Fubuki mused back, as he reached down and linked his hand with Aphrodi’s. The archangel leaned into the touch, wings relaxed and brushing gently against his love. Fubuki cast a quick glance upwards to see a softly glowing halo, a sign that Aphrodi was extremely happy and content for the moment. The morning air was crisp, and it made the walk refreshing as the two of them slowly made their way back to the penthouse. Collapsing onto the couch together, Aphrodi couldn’t wait any longer and immediately tried showering Fubuki with kisses. 

“Gah! Stop!” Fubuki was caught off guard, having spent too long being parents and had forgotten how aggressive Aphrodi could be at times. It was how they had gotten together, after all. Aphrodi just wouldn’t quit. 

“Why should I?” Golden lashes blinked delicately at him, but the look in those crimson eyes certainly wasn’t angelic. “We never get time alone anymore, and the kids will be back after lunch.” Roughly pulling off Fubuki’s light jacket, he gave a devilish grin. 

“...Should’ve expected this,” Fubuki complained as he leaned back into the couch. Assuming the werewolf was finally being compliant, Aphrodi relaxed a bit, leaning forward only to get a face full of fur as Fubuki zipped past him. Tumbling backwards and nearly crashing into the coffee table, his six wings balanced him as he tried to track the silver blur that had escaped into their bedroom. 

“Fubuki!” The aforementioned werewolf had transformed back already, conveniently losing all his clothing in the process which were now lying forlornly on the living room floor. He laughed as Aphrodi crashed into him, pushing him down into the bed.

“You _devil_ ,” Aphrodi nipped at his neck, relieved that he wasn’t being spurned on the one day they had alone time. “You gave me a shock back there!” 

“It’s good to keep you on your toes, keeps you young,” Fubuki chuckled as he pushed a hand under the low-cut shirt Aphrodi was wearing. Temptress.

“Don’t speak to your elders like that,” retorted the ornery archangel, “I still retain my youthful energy! ” Fubuki suddenly realized the implications of this as Aphrodi pulled off his own shirt. Eyes glancing to the clock, he saw that they still had two hours until their reservation, although with how Aphrodi tended to spend their time in bed.…

“Remember, we have a lunch reservation,” Fubuki warned, as his husband was already trying to shimmy out of his pants. 

“Oh trust me, I remember,” Aphrodi licked his lips in anticipation of the meal that was right in front of him. “Don’t you worry about that.”

“I’m plenty worried,” Fubuki muttered, but his eyes softened as his husband pulled back the stray strands of hair that had fallen forward over him. With his gorgeous body backlit from the morning sunlight, his halo served to cast a gentle glow onto the six large wings and crown of his golden hair. Reaching upwards, he pulled Aphrodi close and gave him a deep kiss on the lips. _Sometimes,_ Fubuki thought in the back of his head, _it might be worth missing a lunch reservation._

\---

“See? We made it!” Aphrodi preened as he sat across the elegant glass table from his husband, practically glowing with happiness. Silhouetted against the view of the sky to his right, Aphrodi looked quite refreshing in a long-sleeved black turtleneck and a long white side-slit skirt. Resting one ankle over the other, he focused on his husband who was wincing with every movement. The light blue jacket was tightly zipped up to his chin, and Fubuki was refusing to take it off despite obviously overheating in it. 

“Barely,” came his disgruntled reply. He’d never showered so fast in his life, almost feeling like a dog getting hosed off in the back garden. They’d ended up having to fly there with him thrown over Aphrodi’s shoulder in wolf form. It had been a quick trip to the restaurant bathrooms to get changed, and with the sheer amount of hickeys clearly visible, he’d had to keep his jacket on the whole time. The smug archangel had only changed into a turtleneck when he’d threaten to leave a bite mark on his face. The worst part is they’d forgotten to bring socks for Fubuki, so they’d probably have to fly home again since he couldn’t walk like this.

“Aw honey,” Aphrodi started to say something (probably stupid) but the waiter had arrived with their meals. Casting all thoughts aside, the two began eating, both of them absolutely famished. Breakfast had been hours ago, after all. Aphrodi had stopped giving Fubuki material gifts for Valentine’s long ago, knowing that his husband preferred just having a nice memory to look back on instead. He was hoping that today was memorable enough after the last few hours, but a nice restaurant trip always helped. 

“When the kids are older, we should bring them here,” Fubuki piped up out of the blue, as he gazed out at the city below them. “They’d like the view.” 

“In a few years,” Aphrodi agreed. He was hoping they’d pick up more of his tastes than Fubuki’s. So far they’d been more willing than his husband to go on shopping trips with him. Hesitating, he put his fork down to glance up at Fubuki, who seemed focused on trying to spear a mushroom onto his fork. 

“Thank you, Fubuki,” he mused quietly. 

“Hm?” The werewolf looked up at him, puzzled at this seemingly random gratuity.

“For still sticking with me after we got the kids, I know it was a shock, but you took it so well. Even though it was all...my fault.” Finally admitting it, Aphrodi nervously looked across the table at him, idly playing with a strand of his hair.

“Ha,” Fubuki went back to trying to stab his mushrooms. “I can’t say it wasn’t a surprise, but I would be lying if I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen at some point. I was more worried you’d find some kid you liked and just bring them back home.”

“Hey!”

“But I have always wanted a family of my own, so this wasn’t a bad development, if unplanned. The kids are adorable and I love them, and I love you.” 

Aphrodi blushed upon hearing the last statement. Unlike him, where “love” was a word he threw around like glitter at a bachelorette party, hearing it from Fubuki was always rare and sentimental. 

“I love you too, Fubuki.” 

\---

The kids were absolutely hopped up on sugar when Aphrodi and Fubuki came to pick them up from preschool. Keeping a tight grip on both of them so they didn’t squirm away, they walked back to the apartment building while listening to the kids babble about their day. 

“We had a big party, and I got soooo many cards!” Kishibe excitedly lifted up the bursting paper bag filled with his spoils. 

“We also made you a card!” Yukimura added as he tried to take off his bag to show them in the middle of the sidewalk. Fubuki quickly stopped him before he ended up causing a problem for traffic.

“Why don’t you show us when we’re home?” He coaxed, helping the child put his backpack back on and cross the street properly. “We’ll be able to sit down and look through all your cards, too.” 

“OK!” As soon as the familiar glass doors of the complex lobby came into view, the kids broke into a run, racing down the street. Fubuki was sincerely glad that neither of them could fly nor transform. Just normal human kids were a handful, he couldn’t imagine dealing with werewolf-angel hybrid kids. 

Once home, the kids ran to the coffee table, pouring out their paper bags to show their parents just exactly what they’d gotten. The gifts ranged from chocolate (Aphrodi immediately confiscated all of it) to frozen roses (the thorns had been expertly removed by...a shadow stained blade). Fubuki was glad to see that the kids seemed to have left a positive impression on their classmates, as all the cards praised how kind and caring they were. 

“And here!” Both kids pulled out two large and colorful pieces of construction paper, expertly decorated with possibly every heart sticker known to humankind. Aphrodi was disappointed at the lack of glitter but took the papers anyway. 

“Oh look, two for you, and two for me.” Aphrodi passed the ones meant for Fubuki over to his husband’s waiting hand, looking at the two cards remaining. Kishibe had drawn six wings in black crayon, along with a halo drawn in yellow crayon that had gotten smudged with the black. Smiling, Aphrodi knelt down and gave Kishibe a hug as he read what was written on it. In childish handwriting, a sweet [I love you Papa! I love your weengs!] had been scrawled underneath in red crayon decorated with hearts. 

“Thank you Kishibe, Papa loves you too.” 

Yukimura’s card seemed to rely heavily on purple accents, but he had drawn a stick figure with six wings (forgotten the halo) and lots of shopping bags. Similar spindly handwriting spelled out [I love you Papa !! Your so strong!]. Yukimura also received a hug, which he quickly broke free of to go see Daddy’s reaction to his gift. Fubuki’s cards had a grumpy dog on one (Kishibe’s) and a stick figure with wolf ears and a tail on another (Yukimura’s). Both proclaimed how much they loved Fubuki and how fluffy he was. Yukimura, however, put special emphasis on how much he loved petting Fubuki’s tail. 

“Thank you both, these are so sweet...,” Fubuki let them both snuggle up next to him on the couch as his smile spread warmly at the Valentine’s cards. “Let’s put them up on the wall with all your other drawings.” The family clustered around the wall that used to display priceless artworks, now repurposed to allow for more space for the kid’s achievements. Carefully prepping some tape, Aphrodi stuck them onto the corners of the card while Fubuki held them up against the wall with his fingers. 

“You know,” Aphrodi remarked as he took care to avoid sticking tape over any of the stickers. “I’ve been around for a long time, but I think out of all the cards and gifts I’ve gotten in my life, these are my absolute favorite.”

“I can’t say I’ve been around as long as you have, but I’ll cherish these cards for the rest of my life,” Fubuki happily agreed. Both of them glanced down at their kids, who were milling around their legs and tugging on Aphrodi’s wings, still hyper from the sugar rush. 

The two adults’ eyes turned toward each other, before Fubuki leaned in and snuck a little kiss on the lips. With a smile, Aphrodi’s large wings conveniently blocked it from view. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Date outfit.
> 
> \---
> 
> Thank you for reading this fic! It was just a playful fic I wrote out as I just wanted some lighthearted fun. An unusual setting and fun characters, it brought a smile to my face while I wrote it and I hope you enjoyed it, too. Things are tough right now, and this made for a nice little escape. I hope everyone is able to stay safe and healthy. Maybe in a couple years I'll look back at this author's note and know everything turned out alright, but for now I can only hope. 
> 
> See you in my next fic! (It's also afufubu.) Until then, find me puttering away on my [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/kuroekoo) making anything and everything afufubu related, somehow.
> 
> My friend wrote a little spinoff fic from this AU, Shindou x Tsurugi as teens! Check it out [ here ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26104285) !


	9. xmas special!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah!!!!!!! I wrote this chapter to celebrate my friend [TamTam's](https://twitter.com/producktions12) birthday!!!! Happy Birthday my friend!! Here's some super cute afufubu family time with Christmas vibes all over the place for you! Hope you have a great birthday!  
> \---  
> Surprise! This is one of the only fics that I may update every once in a while despite it being "finished", as it's an open ended fluffy AU. If something inspires me, I just might write it....

Aphrodi blinked awake in their dimly lit bedroom, lazily slipping his arm further around the sleeping werewolf next to him, burrowing deeper into soft pillows. The kids had been better behaved as of late, sticking to their room _before_ sunrise instead of their usual wandering. That left him a little extra time to cuddle with his husband at the wonderful time of 5:35 AM. 

“Mmm...Aphrodi? The kids-?” Fubuki’s yawn drifted over to him, and Aphrodi scooted over to kiss his husband’s cheek in response. 

“They’re quiet,” the archangel answered. “You’d be the first one to hear them, anyways, with those ears of yours.” Lifting up his fingers, he brushed against Fubuki’s earlobe, resulting in the desired reaction of a pillow pushed into his face. 

“C’mon, Fubukiii~, not even a good morning kiss?” Aphrodi teased, only to be silenced by a crash heard from the living room. Both of the adults froze, then automatically tore out of bed, pulling on slippers and robes before running out the bedroom door. Fubuki blinked bleary eyes while staring at his two kids, who looked like the picture of guilt. Both of them were crouched next to the lavish Christmas tree they’d put up a few weeks ago, and right beside Yukimura sat a broken ornament. 

“Oh my, Yukimura! Are you hurt?!” Fubuki hurried over, running his hands along the boy’s head and checking for any bumps or scrapes. Aphrodi had disappeared upon seeing the scene, only to reappear with a handheld vacuum. 

“Kishibe, are you alright?” Aphrodi knelt down next to the frozen boy and pat his fluffy head of purple hair reassuringly. Seeing no blood or forming bruises, he went to clean up the mess next to Yukimura. While he did so, Fubuki fussed over the two boys, slowly coaxing them back to their usual liveliness that matched the scenery around them. The previously pristine living room had transformed into a rioting festive environment. To the untrained eye, it simply looked like a showhome for a Christmas catalogue, down to matching ornaments, stockings, and throws in shades of red and gold. Tinsel hung as tastefully as possible from every available surface, and indoor Christmas lights gave a soft glow to the entire floor. 

In reality, neither Aphrodi nor Fubuki had celebrated Christmas before welcoming these two boys into their lives. It simply wasn’t something they observed, although the festive spirit was nice to partake in when in public. They’d wanted the boys to have a proper Christmas experience, though, so Aphrodi had gone nuts upon seeing furniture catalogues, working hard to transform their home into a winter wonderland. The boys had been delighted to help decorate for Christmas, even deciding which ornaments to buy.

“What happened?” Fubuki asked, snuggling the two boys up against him. They were a bit cold, meaning that they’d been out of bed for a while now. How he hadn’t heard them tiptoeing around was beyond him, and to be honest, it worried him a bit. 

“I just wanted to check under the tree,” came Yukimura’s muffled reply, as his face was currently buried in Fubuki’s chest. He looked up upon receiving a kiss on the head, one that Kishibe received as well. 

“Well Santa hasn’t come yet, so it’s still empty under the tree right now.” Fubuki patiently explained to them. “And Santa doesn’t like people sneaking up on him, so tonight you two have to stay in bed, OK? Otherwise, he won’t be able to leave your presents!” The two wide-eyed boys nodded, soaking in all the information they could get about the mystical being’s habits like a sponge. Christmas Eve was tonight, and now they couldn’t wait! Now that they lived up high in the sky, Santa might be able to more easily find them this year and leave lots more presents. 

Aphrodi smiled as he finished checking for any other bits of broken ornament, remembering a month ago how the two kids had tugged at his wings and asked if Santa would be able to find them at their new home. Their presents had been bought already and were squirreled away all over the house, mostly in places that the kids weren’t normally allowed in. He’d spent several painful hours wrapping and re-wrapping them while they were at preschool. It had gotten to the point that his resume could be updated to include gift wrapping, complete with techniques and average speed. Placing the vacuum aside, he sat down on the plush rug and joined the rest of the family in a cuddle.

“Santa’s definitely going to come tonight as long as you two behave, but before all that, let’s eat breakfast and get dressed! Papa’s going to take you somewhere special today!” 

The two kids immediately bounced up off the floor upon hearing this news. Somewhere fun, right during the holidays! Fubuki felt insistent tugs on his robe, laughing as he stood up to go make breakfast. The kids still preferred his cooking, despite Aphrodi trying to bribe them with more sugary foods. 

\---

“Boys! Be careful! Hold onto Daddy’s hands!” Fubuki called out as he tried to keep an iron grip on his carefree children. Luckily, he didn’t need to wear gloves during the winter cold. _I’m sure if I wore gloves, they’d run off with one each, leaving me all alone._ He thought with a wry smile, right before Kishibe lunged in another direction again.

They’d come to an outdoor Christmas fair full of street vendors, Christmas decorations, and plenty of other winter wonders. Christmas trees crowded against the busy walkways, tinsel and glowing strings of lights dripping from each laden branch, threatening to catch on their shoulders as they brushed past. Plenty of decorated stalls lined the walkways as well, some selling food befitting the holidays and casting alluring scents into the open air. Others sold Christmas ornaments, illustrations, and finery that caught one's eye. 

Aphrodi had dressed for the occasion, looking as if he was part of the scenery himself with a red velvet cape, trimmed with gold that swept over his wings. He’d tried to hide them for the day, although his softly glowing halo pretty much gave the archangel away regardless. The dress he’d bought with the help of his two darling children draped wonderfully over his figure underneath, the tulle ends brushing against his ankles, constellations shimmering in the sunlight. 

“Fubuki, look! They’ve got all these decorated Christmas trees, and you can vote on which one’s your favorite!” The angelic adult child wandered towards the voting booth, unknowingly parting the crowd as he went. 

“Aphrodi!” Fubuki called over, exasperated as he pulled both his boys close and hurried after his husband. Catching up to the preoccupied archangel, he shoved Kishibe’s hand into Aphrodi’s. 

“There. Kishibe, make sure Papa doesn’t run off.” He instructed the child, who clung close to his Papa’s hand while staring at all the different Christmas trees, absolutely fascinated. The two kids had been dolled up for the day, in matching red velvet capelets and white and gold striped knit sweaters. Black corduroy pants were a must, as Fubuki had nixed the shorts and leggings idea since they were going to be outside in December. It didn’t snow here, but the winter air was still cold and he was worried about the children catching a chill. Aphrodi, however, was left to his own devices. Fubuki had given up on policing that archangel’s dress code a long time ago.

“Ohhh Kishibe, look! Which one do you like the most?” Aphrodi knelt down and scooped the child up into his arms with practiced ease. Rows of lavishly ornamented Christmas trees were spread out behind the white picket fence in front of them. 

“...that one!” A small hand pointed at a distant Christmas tree, sparkling white and silver with gold ornaments as an accent. It reminded him of home, when it wasn’t littered with Christmas decorations. 

“How wonderful! That’s Papa’s favorite, too! Let’s vote for that one, then.” Aphrodi gave his sweet child a kiss on the cheek, carrying him to cast their votes at the booth nearby. 

“What about you, Yukimura?” Fubuki knelt down next to the child, seemingly deep in thought on which tree was his favorite. 

“That one!” He pointed towards a more unconventional tree, laced with blue and white icicles, softly lit to give it an ethereal glow. Small thistle animal ornaments in similar shades danced across the pine branches, like a winter wildlife wonderland. 

“That one _is_ nice! Let’s go vote for that one, then.” Hand in hand, they went over to the booth and put a coin (hastily fished out of Fubuki’s pockets) into the box of their chosen tree. The entire event was for charity, after all, so he didn’t mind using some loose change. As Fubuki moved to join back up with his husband, a hand painted chalkboard sign caught his eye. 

“Aphrodi!” 

The archangel turned towards his husband, knowing something had caught his attention with the way Fubuki had called his name. 

“I just saw a sign that said there’s an ice skating rink here! I think that’d be fun to take the kids to.” If his tail were present, it’d be wagging at a thousand miles per hour right now. Aphrodi suppressed a laugh and instead smiled in response.

“We can take them there and see how it is. If the kids want, they can go skating.” It seems his dear husband still loved all things snow and wintry. Personally, he was happy being on firm ground and wrapped up in his warm cape. But if this would make the kids smile, he’d even pay for their skates and sit on the side to take photos. 

“Yukimura, Kishibe, have you two ice skated before?” Fubuki asked them as they walked as a family to the skating rink, following the series of hand painted signs. 

“What’s that?” Kishibe asked from his snuggly spot in Aphrodi’s arms. Yukimura didn’t seem to know either, as he listened wide-eyed to Fubuki’s simplified explanation of the activity. Fubuki explained everything from the rink itself to the skates, but left out more technical terms and kept it as more of a recreational activity. 

“-and you can even see the older skaters do lots of tricks and jumps! But today we’ll just be getting you two used to the ice.” Just as Fubuki was summing it up to them, they arrived at the open space, decorated with gold Christmas lights and plenty of tinsel on the fencing. 

“The skate rental is over there, I’ll go get them. Kishibe, you stay here with Daddy.” Aphrodi set the boy down, who tried to cling onto his cape, but was ushered into Fubuki’s waiting arms. Fubuki watched as the archangel paraded off to wait in line, like a good citizen. 

“C’mon, let’s go look at how other people ice skate!” Fubuki smiled at the two kids, who were curiously looking around. They walked over to the edge of the rink, where he pointed out how the ice skates worked and different ways to move with them. 

“Is Papa going to skate?” Kishibe asked upon seeing a whole family skate together in a corner of the rink. As if on cue, the child in that family took a tumble and had to be helped up by the parents. Perfect timing.

“No, Papa doesn’t like the cold.” came a familiar voice unexpectedly from behind them, causing the children to turn towards a smiling Aphrodi holding 3 pairs of skates. He knew the kids’ shoe sizes (and Fubuki’s as well) so it was quick work to get the right pairs. 

“Now let’s get you two seated and I’ll help put your skates on.” He coaxed them over to an empty bench nearby, noticing how they kept staring at other people’s skates. They fidgeted as he helped switch out their cozy boots for ice skates, Fubuki lacing on his own on the side. 

“Why won’t Papa skate with us?” Yukimura asked again, noticing Kishibe casting glances towards the family on the rink and then back at their own. 

“Because Papa didn’t dress to skate, and also-”

“-Is horrible at skating. And since flying is banned here, Papa won’t be able to join us on the rink.” Fubuki interjected, hiding a smile as he remembered a certain incident when they’d first started dating. Aphrodi had fallen flat on his ass when ice skating for the first time and had cried about it for years after that. 

“But Papa will be taking lots of photos and will be right on the edge of the rink, so we’ll still be together.” Aphrodi softly finished, reaching over and ruffling Kishibe’s hair. This seemed to cheer up the child, and the two of them carefully stood up on their new skates, a bit wobbly, but balancing in place. Fubuki took one small hand each and helped them over to the ice rink opening, getting onto the ice first before guiding them along. 

Yukimura tested his skates, feeling the blades under his feet slide over the rough patch of ice near the opening. It was more cut up than the rest, considering how much traffic went through here. Gripping the wall tightly, he began to move his feet, sliding them forward with care. Kishibe followed suit, but hesitated upon hitting a chink in the ice with one of his skates.. 

“It’s alright Kishibe, I’m here.” Aphrodi leaned over the edge of the barrier, smiling and watching his son’s progression. One hand was already on his phone, snapping photos to help preserve this memory forever. 

“You can do it, Kishibe! Here, Daddy will hold your hand.” Kishibe looked up and took the proffered hand, gripping it tightly as he took another step forward. This time went more smoothly, and he soon picked up the courage to catch up to Yukimura, who was already managing to skate without wall assistance. 

“Wow Yukimura, you’re doing great!” Fubuki called out, admiring how quickly the boy had picked up skating, and was even able to brake on his own. Kishibe struggled slightly next to him, mostly because he had let go of the wall and was relying solely on his father’s support. 

“Aw man, they grow up so fast,” Aphrodi complained to no one but himself as he watched them slide around the rink. Yukimura had taken to this activity like a duck to water, and was now starting to test his speed. Kishibe, on the other hand, was still holding onto Fubuki, but seemed to want to try a twirl near the middle of the rink. Aphrodi eagerly waited for them as they made a lap around, only to have Yukimura fly by and Kishibe too preoccupied with trying to get his spin right to even give him a smile. 

“Kishibe…! Boys!” Left behind, Aphrodi stared at the receding figures, helpless to chase after them as he was not on the ice. Seeing that he wasn’t needed for the time being, the archangel looked around, then spotted a booth a little further down. Pulling away from the rink fencing, he wandered off in that direction.

Fubuki, however, was extremely focused on keeping the kids from injuring themselves _or_ others while on the rink. Growing slightly weary from the constantly heightened state of vigilance, he glanced over at where Aphrodi had been last perched, only to find his dear husband _gone_. 

_Where?! Oh God, I can’t let the kids find out_ , he thought, just as the small hand gripping his tightened. He looked down and saw Kishibe staring in the same direction, a look of shock in the boys’ eyes. Too late.

“Wait, wait, it’s oka-,” Fubuki started, only to have Kishibe immediately burst out into tears. Panicking, Fubuki picked Kishibe up, hoping this was the next best thing and would calm the boy down. Unfortunately, this only reminded the small boy of his missing Papa and he began to cry even harder. 

“Yukimura!” The stressed and currently single father slid after the other boy and caught his arm. “Kishibe’s a little tired, let’s go take a break for now, alright?” 

“I wanna keep skating!” Came the oblivious protest, Yukimura not understanding just why they were stopping already. He’d only just gotten the hang of turning without slowing down!

“Just for a little bit, love. Now let’s go.” Ever insistent, Fubuki began to herd them back over to the rink opening, only to see a familiar face appear once more. Aphrodi stared at him, surprised by the fact that Kishibe was in his husband’s arms, Yukimura literally in tow. Taking a closer look, he saw that Kishibe was...crying?!

“Oh no, did he get hurt?!” Aphrodi rushed forward, nearly stepping into the rink before remembering that ice and heels did not mix. 

“No, just shocked that you disappeared.” Fubuki’s clipped reply might as well have slammed Aphrodi face down into the ice rink. Passing the crying child over, he watched as the boy began to calm down, seeing that his Papa really was still here. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Kishibe, I just went to get us some warm drinks.” Aphrodi hugged his boy tight, peppering his forehead with soft kisses. Fubuki glanced down and saw the four drinks snug in a carry tote hanging from Aphrodi’s hand. 

“Papa would never leave you, he promises.” The archangel softly reassured his child, rubbing his back as Kishibe’s sniffles subsided. 

Yukimura had quieted down upon seeing this scene, now understanding why they’d been hurried off the ice rink. He looked up, only to see Fubuki looking down at him with a gentle smile. 

“Well, I think that’s enough for today, let’s change out and enjoy the drinks Papa got.” Fubuki coaxed them along back to the rink benches. The boy’s belongings were untouched and it was quick work to get them swapped out once Kishibe stopped openly crying. 

“Look, I got everyone some hot apple cider!” Aphrodi pulled out matching brown paper cups filled with the aromatic drink. No hot chocolate for anyone here. The last thing Aphrodi wanted was to be calling poison control on Christmas Eve for his husband. 

As the cups were passed out, Kishibe stared down at the white plastic lid, wondering what color the drink was inside. He looked up to see Aphrodi already taking a sip and quickly imitated the movement to try it out. 

“Wah!” _Spicy!_ Kishibe stuck out his tongue, trying to use the winter air to cool it off. Yukimura was undergoing the same experience, a shocked expression at the unexpected taste. 

“Ah, this mix is nice,” Fubuki sighed happily as he tasted the warm cider. Perfect for a chilly day, the mix of spices, cinnamon, and apple cider warmed him from the inside out. The children tried another sip, and soon couldn’t be parted from the cups, as they developed a taste for the winter drink. 

“Where should we go after this?” Aphrodi asked, noting that the sun would still be up for a while longer. There were plenty of other attractions here, and all things a family could enjoy.

“Hmmm.” Fubuki looked down at the two kids, who, despite being warm and content, didn’t seem to be worn out just yet. Kishibe was staring at a distant tree topper, and Yukimura’s eyes followed a colorful gift bag that went by. 

“I think we’ll let the kids choose!” Fubuki decided, bending over to look at the two. “Now, Kishibe, Yukimura, where do you want to go next?” Awaiting their answers, the two indulging parents leaned in to hear their kids’ dearest wishes on this special day. 

And what a day it was. 

\---

Fubuki heaved a sigh of relief, then immediately clamped a hand over his mouth as Aphrodi hastily waved a hand at him. His wolf ears twitched, but no sound could be heard in response. The kids were still asleep, tired after a long day, and luckily hadn’t been alerted to the going-ons happening outside their room. Aphrodi and Fubuki were playing Santa for the first time ever, an extremely stressful job occupation that involved ferreting out all the previously hidden gifts in absolute silence at midnight. 

“Do you think they’ll come out to check on the tree? We still have to arrange it all!” Aphrodi whispered, retrieving the last gift from above the wine cabinets. Next year, they were going to hide the gifts in a proper closet where retrieving it wouldn’t cause any noise. This was far too stressful.

“No, it’s not like they have an alarm clock. Unless they somehow got one, but they don’t sound like they’re going to wake up anytime soon. Anyways, hurry!” The gold and white wrapped package was passed down into waiting hands, then the two of them dashed to the living room to assemble everything. The Christmas tree shook slightly as Aphrodi pushed up some gifts against it, but no more noise sounded after that. The packages, dolled up in shiny gift wrap and doused with ribbons, seemed to spill out from under the tree, both parents having bought one too many gifts for their precious children. Aphrodi could already imagine how excited they would be tomorrow, not even knowing which one to open first. 

“I think that’s that,” he whispered, leaning back to snap a photo of the entire ensemble before getting up to go to bed. They’d catch a few hours of shuteye in order to wake up before the kids again in the morning. Nothing one could do about being both a loving parent _and_ Santa.

“How nice.” Fubuki softly added, taking in the entire scene in front of him. He’d never thought their home could be transformed like this, somehow warmer and cozier than before. Twinkling strands of Christmas lights winked back at him in the dimly lit living room, and he smiled and rubbed his eyes, ready for bed as well. 

“Let’s go to bed to at least get a quick nap.” His husband took his hand as they tiptoed back into their bedroom, both giving a sigh of relief as the door clicked shut behind them. 

“All clear?” Aphrodi asked, reaching over and rubbing his husband’s fluffy wolf ears with his fingers. 

“They’re still asleep, and soon we will be too,” Fubuki answered with a yawn, not even bothering to swat away the archangel’s hand now. He climbed into bed, waiting for Aphrodi to join him, only to see his idiot husband digging around in the closet.

“Aphrodi! We barely have enough time to sleep! Are you trying to find some nice pajamas or something?” Just as he said that, Aphrodi turned around, holding a small gold-wrapped package in his hands. 

“Not pajamas, and not for me.” The archangel cleverly replied, walking over to sit down on the bed next to a stunned Fubuki. The clock struck midnight just then, and he leaned over to give his first Christmas gift: a kiss on the lips. 

“O-oh, Aphrodi!” Nothing could hide the blush that spread across his cheeks and burned his ears. Standing up, he walked over to the bookshelf, much to Aphrodi’s confusion. _A book? At this time of the night? During this mood?!_

Fubuki removed a section of books from the bookshelf that he then stacked on the side. Reaching in, he pulled out a package of his own, wrapped in red and white. 

“Here.” He sheepishly replied, coming back over to the bed and settling down next to Aphrodi. “Actually, I got you one as well. But I wanted to give it to you after we woke up!”

“A gift, for _me_?!” Aphrodi’s eyes were wide open, recognizing what a rare occasion this was. Fubuki rarely bought him anything without first asking what he wanted. This was an absolute surprise.

“I was out shopping for the kids, then I saw this and well...I thought you’d like it. It’s not fair if only the kids get presents for Christmas, after all. We can play Santa for each other, too.” He handed the package over, exchanging the one in his hand for Aphrodi’s at the same time. Turning it over in his palm, he smiled and looked over at his stunned husband.

“Well, since it’s past midnight, do you think we should open our gifts?” 

“Of course!” Aphrodi forcefully answered , nearly ripping open the wrapping paper before realizing that he should probably preserve this handiwork for the rest of his life. As he carefully picked at the tape, he noticed that Fubuki was doing the same. His husband had always been more meticulous than him. He slid the box out from the wrapping paper shell, subconsciously holding his breath as he pulled open the lid. Inside, lying on a bed of brown and gold tissue paper, was a neatly folded red apron with white trim. Little brown reindeer danced along the edges, visible as he lifted it out from the box and the bottom unfolded outwards. A Christmas scene was illustrated along the apron skirt, and functional pockets in the shape of white mittens punctuated the festive design. 

“I thought you’d like it, since you’ve been cooking so much lately for the kids and your last few aprons were starting to feel a bit used.” Fubuki commented, having seen it on display and instantly bought it without even thinking.

“I _love_ it!!” Aphrodi crowed, wanting to fly this apron from the top of the penthouse to show the entire world this new gift. As he played with the apron ends, Fubuki finally pried open the complicated wrapping paper folds and pulled out his own gift box as well. Unhooking the top, he looked inside to see a soft cashmere scarf: white knit with silver and gold snowflakes running along its length, clustering near the ends like shimmering stars. 

“Oh,” he breathed, thinking about how Aphrodi this gift was, and yet it suited himself as well. 

“It’s been getting chilly lately, and I saw it and remembered how few scarf options you have!” Aphrodi commentated as best he could, but kept getting distracted by his new apron. Maybe he’d even sleep with it on, he didn’t want to part with it anytime soon. A sudden kiss on the lips, however, jerked him out of those wandering thoughts and grounded him in the present. 

“Thank you Aphrodi, and... well, Merry Christmas.” Fubuki smiled at him, a smile full of love and understanding. Aphrodi put down the apron into his lap in order to lean into his husband’s side.

“Merry Christmas, Fubuki. I already can’t wait for next year.” The two of them leaned against each other, not minding the missed bits of sleep they’d lose, as this Christmas memory more than made up for it all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And all was well.


End file.
